Accio Evans
by YerAWizardBec
Summary: When Lily saw James on the Hogwarts Express to start seventh year, she knew he'd changed, and although she tries to deny it, she finds herself falling for the more mature head boy James. Sirius finds himself in more emotional confusion than he ever has and falling for a girl? Thats new! Lily and James have to cope with NEWTs, friends, the war, how will it end? Love or heartbreak?
1. Head Girl

**Authors note: ****right, so this is my first James and Lily fanfiction and I'm guessing it's going to be quite long (I'm writing this after writing 37 chapters already…). **

**If you have paid close attention to my writing, you will know this is a different chapter 1 to the original one, I rewrote it because the more I read the original the more I hated it so I decided to redo it instead of finishing chapter 37! I hope you like it still and if anyone wants to read the original, just drop me a message and I'll send you it **

**Right hope you like it and remember to review **** Lots of Love future Becca – from chapter 37! TTFN xxx**

Chapter 1: Head Girl

An immense feeling of relief left Lily as she crossed the barrier to Platform 9 ¾; she felt better than she had all summer. The summer had been relatively monotonous, the days seemed to stretch out hours longer than normal and she spent virtually the entire holiday in relative isolation. Then there was _The News_, her older sister Petunia had announced her engagement to the Rhinoceros himself, Vernon Dursley. Lily had only met Vernon on two occasions and within five minutes on their first meeting she had made her judgement about him; her mother had always warned her not to judge a book by its cover, however with Vernon, what you saw was what you got, his depth of character was as shallow as the shallow end of the swimming pool. He was a gruff man with a thick neck and a rather large portly belly, accompanied by a bushy moustache. Lily honestly could not see what Petunia saw him; apart from the fact he seemed to have a reasonably large wallet, and he seemed to have no qualms of lavishing the contents of her sister. In addition to her already rising anxiety levels, her mother had announced that Lily would be a bridesmaid, Petunia hadn't seemed best pleased, Lily wasn't too joyful herself although at least _she_ managed to hide it.

Pushing the thought of her sister to the back of her mind was easy as soon as the scarlet train and the smell of burning coal filled her nostrils. She was finally going home, back to Hogwarts.

Lily looked around for her friends and for a few seconds she felt dejected that she'd arrived before them and would have to wait alone for them to arrive, that was until she saw three pairs of hands waving manically and scurried over to where she spotted that her friends were stood near the back of the train by the entry doors.

"Lily I missed you!" Hestia Jones exclaimed, throwing her arms round her best friend's neck. Hestia Jones and Lily Evans had been best friends since they set eyes on each other on their very first train ride back in first year. The half-blood witch had eyes the colour of the sky on a clear day released her from her vice like grip as her eyes trailed from Lily's face to the shiny badge which hung on her pristine Hogwarts robes. "You got Head Girl! You never told me! How could you?!" Hestia dramatized throwing her arms out wildly.

"I wanted to keep it a surprise!" Lily explained, a huge grin breaking out onto her face; the badge had been her only saving grace this summer, it had arrived ten long days ago, along with her Hogwarts letter and a handwritten note from Dumbledore explaining that she need not visit the Prefect compartment on the train this year, as the Head Girl usually would, with no other explanation. The only rational thought that entered Lily's head on reading this was that Dumbledore had wanted to keep the identity of the Head Boy a secret, although Lily had no idea why anyone would want to do that…

"I still can't believe you didn't tell us!" Jessica Silvers mused. Jessica was easily the tallest of the group of four, standing at least half of head above Hestia who was the next tallest. Slim and lean, she was the perfect build for a Quidditch seeker, the position she held on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Her brown eyes seemed to sparkle at the sight of the badge; it was common knowledge that Jessica had wanted the Head Girl position; however she didn't seem too disappointed that Lily held the position instead of herself.

"I brought tissues and everything thinking we were going to have to console you at not getting the Head Girl badge!" Alice Prewitt added. "We knew it wasn't Jess, we thought it would be you, then when you didn't say you had it, we assumed it wasn't you either! We thought it would be that awful Samia Rain, you know the Ravenclaw prefect? The one with the really bad hair extensions and that false smile? Look how many I brought!" Alice added, pulling tissue after tissue from her pockets, soon the other three witches were holding handfuls of tissues as Alice, the only pureblood witch, stood grinning; she always did love muggle things, tissues included it seemed. Lily dropped her pile of tissues, as did Jessica and Hestia, who looked frankly disgusted at the pile that now filled the platform. Alice removed them with a flick of her wand and grabbed Lily's hand.

"Come on, let's get on the train!" Alice exclaimed as she pulled the redhead towards the train, Jessica and Hestia hot on their tail.

"I wonder who the head Boy will be this year." Jessica asked once they were settled in their train compartment, luggage firmly on the racks, they'd secured it with a sticking charm – they'd had experience with falling luggage before, it was not a pretty sight. The other three looked expectantly at Lily, who sighed and shrugged.

"I don't know." Lily admitted. "I thought it would be Remus, but he never said he got the badge in his letter, but I think Dumbledore wants to keep the Head Boy quiet." Lily answered, pulling Dumbledore's note from her pocket and passing it to Alice was sat next to Jessica on the opposite side of the compartment, both of them scanned the letter, shrugged and handed it back.

Remus Lupin had been the Gryffindor Prefect with Lily for the last two years, they got on famously and Lily had hoped he would get the Head Boy badge, however it seemed he had not. Remus with his sandy blonde hair and eyes a similar shade to the ocean was a great candidate for the badge, he had been a prefect for two years and the badge nearly _always_ went to a Prefect. He held some of the top scores on their year and spent some of his spare time tutoring first years in Defence against the Dark Arts. Lily guessed that Dumbledore, the Headmaster, wouldn't exclude Remus from the position because of his condition would he? No, Dumbledore had let Remus become a Prefect despite his werewolf status, so why not Head Boy? The only reason that Lily could think to not give Remus he position was his friends; the four of them together formed _The Marauders_, a silly name if you asked her. The four of them had been the schools resident pranksters and troublemakers since their first year; on their second day of schooling they had blown up one of the boy's toilets and rendered it out of action for half the year and that was just the start of it. The other three, Sirius Black, James Potter and Peter Pettigrew seemed to have the rest of the school wrapped around their fingers, when they pulled a prank or got into trouble, the teachers would ruffle their hair and give them a detention or two, if Lily or anyone else had done what they had they'd have surely been expelled. The year previous, James and Sirius had inflated Bertum Aubrey's head with what Lily suspected was an illegal curse and yet all they'd received was a couple of detentions each, Lily couldn't fathom it. Remus, although not the main prankster was often the brain behind most of their antics, that was all Lily could think that was dissuade anyone from making him Head Boy.

Despite Lily's reservations about the Marauders, she had grown closer with them over their sixth year; Sirius Black had been the first one Lily had started to know, bar Remus. Sirius had an infectious laugh and a filthy sense of humour, something which despite her insisting she hated, Lily secretly found hilarious. Lily found her friendship with Sirius surprising, for her first five years of schooling Sirius had ignored Lily Evans, referring to her as _'the ginger one' _however all that resentment between the two of them seemed to have vanished at the end of the fifth year and they now struck up an easy friendship, spending many of their nights in the common room joking and laughing or just talking until stupid time in the morning. Sirius although was not what you'd call a _normal Black_, despite holding all the characteristics of the prestigious Black family, silky black hair which fell in perfect waves framing is face and eyes the colour of the sea at storm, he defied tradition and was sorted into Gryffindor instead of Slytherin, much to the outrage of his pure blood fanatic parents, and openly defied their wishes. It seemed, getting the highest score in their year for muggle studies was the final straw and at the beginning of their sixth year, he was disowned. Lily had never heard of anyone being disowned before, but she guessed you should be fairly upset, not shouting and hollering praises to merlin and Agrippa like Sirius, but _each to their own_. Since then he had been living with the undeniable leader of the Marauders James Potter, like Sirius and Remus, he was classically handsome, tall and lean, slightly muscular with defined abdominals from hours on the Quidditch pitch training his team, of course he was Gryffindor team captain. Lily had noticed, sometime over the past year (about the same time as the butterflies started) that James' hazel eyes sometimes appeared brown, sometimes more green flecked with gold; they intrigued Lily, although she'd never admit that, mentally or out loud. Lily had spent the first five years of her schooling loathing James Potter, she hated every fabric of his being, everything about him, from the way he ruffled his hair to make it seem as if he had just got of a broom stick, to the way he played with that stupid snitch despite playing chaser and the way he would hex younger students just because he could. In addition the numerous amount of times he would ask her to be his girlfriend, at least once a term she would have to come up with an excuse or clever way to say no, then there was the arguments, Lily who had a relatively short temper anyway, seemed to have no fuse around James, it became none existent, just one word from him could provoke an argument that could last for hours and could be heard from miles around. Over the last year though, Lily had seen a drastic change in James Potter, had he matured? Was that the word? He had stopped playing with that silly snitch, stopped hexing students and began tutoring them instead, although that habit of ruffling his hair stayed, despite Lily's expressed hatred of it. Lily expected that change in James had been prompted by that fateful day at the lake when Lily's former best friend Severus Snape had called her that awful name – she detested the word – and she had told James what she really thought of him. Lily had obviously felt guilty after about what she had said, but she stood by it. After that something in James seemed to change, he took a different tact stopped asking her out and instead concentrated on becoming her friend. Lily and James had a struck up a careful relationship, James was still careful not to aggravate Lily's temper so they got along well and despite the occasional spat, Lily found herself enjoying his company more and more. She looked forward to the time they spent together and then there was the subject of the butterflies that flapped around her stomach whenever she saw him, but these weren't just normal butterflies, these were butterflies with drilling tools and hammers that were incredibly persistent in their attempt to free themselves from her stomach, instead of feeling light headed and dreamy whenever she saw James, like it was described in books, she felt nauseous and was quite sure she'd throw up, especially when he looked at her, with _look_, the look he reserved just for her. Lily, like other girls her age had, had the occasional boyfriend, but never had she felt attraction like this, to bloody James Potter of all people! She hoped the attraction had just been a reaction, something which would have died over the summer; she did not want to reveal to James Potter that when in third year he had announced that she'd one day fall for him, he had indeed been right.

The last Marauder was Peter Pettigrew. A small boy he stood half a foot shorter than the other three who were all relatively tall, a few inches taller than Lily. He wasn't fat, but what you'd affectionately call _cuddly_, with watery blue eyes. Unlike the others who were top of all their classes without trying, Peter worked incredibly hard for his just above average grades. Although he often made, quite dreadful, mistakes in Potions class – which ended up with the whole of the dungeons being evacuated, Peter was a good laugh to have around. He had surprisingly good comedic timing, and although he would admit it, because it was a stupid subject, he was probably one of the best in their year at Divination – he was the only reason Lily had passed her OWL exam in fifth year. He also happened to be quite a whizz at Transfiguration, it seemed to be a particular favourite with the Marauders.

Silence fell upon the four girls as the train chuntered to life and pulled away from the station, Hestia waved to her dad out the window and Alice to her parents, Jessica and Lily hung back from the window, instead Lily found her focus settling on Jessica. Her light blonde hair had grown over summer; it was now almost waist length although it was getting gradually shorter as she braided it down her back and over her shoulder.

"You going to keep staring Lily or do you want me to do yours?" Jessica asked with a grin, meeting Lily's eyes, she hadn't realised she'd been staring so intently however it seemed she had been.

"I'm okay thanks Jess, just watching." Lily replied, thinking how much trouble Jessica would have taming her vivid red curls to get them to braid the way Jessica's sleek blonde locks did. Alice sat back in her seat and rested her head against the back of her seat. She'd cut her dark blonde hair shorter over the summer, she'd mentioned so in one of her letters, it was now shoulder length with a light side fringe, Lily noted shorter hair suited her. Hestia took her seat back, but continued to watch out the window, as if in deep thought, Lily couldn't imagine what about, although it must have been important as Hestia's brow furrowed and hard look of concentration fell across her pretty features. Lily took a moment to muse, her friends weren't the most popular group at Hogwarts but they fitted in with each other perfectly, they suited each other, a pureblood, two half-bloods and a muggle born; two blondes, a brunette and a redhead; the Head Girl, a new Prefect, Quidditch seeker and school gossip.

"I wonder who got the badge though." Alice considered again, as she picked at her shocking pink nail varnish.

"Benjy Fenwick?" Hestia offered.

"Maybe." Lily replied as she mused, the Ravenclaw prefect was lovely, he was a good student and an overachiever, yes it must be Benjy, Lily knew she could get on with him well and they made a good team, Prefect rounds had taught her that, although she secretly hoped that Remus would walk in and surprise her with the badge, he was who _she_ wanted for Head Boy.

"I reckon it's Fenwick – who else is there?" Hestia asked, she looked like she was going to carry on her reasoning but she was interrupted by Sirius Black, who had dramatically entered their compartment.

"Well ladies, you'd be wrong there!" he exclaimed excitedly, a devilish grin crossing his features. Sirius paused and held his hands up to the open doorway. "May I introduce the new Head Boy!" he stopped to giggle and in walked the last person Lily expected to see with the Head Boy badge pinned to his chest. "Mr James Potter!"

**Authors note: as you may notice, there are yet again some **_**more **_**changed to this chapter, reading it through again I noticed some small discrepancies; I've just edited them to make the story flow better. I hope you like chapter – remember to review!**


	2. Head Boy

**Authors note: right, so this is chapter two mark two, I rewrote this because I thought it needed doing… it is slightly shorter than the original one but I think it reads better, if you want to read the original chapter, just send me a message and I'll send you it **** thank you for reading, remember to review!**

Chapter 2: Head boy

The four girls were for once, dumbstruck, speechless. Lily couldn't get her head around it, James Potter Head Boy? Was Dumbledore on drugs? Was he mad? What on earth could have possessed him to make James Potter Head Boy?! Fair enough, he had matured over the last year and he _was_ more responsible, but responsible enough for Head Boy? Lily doubted it, after all last year he _had_ inflated Bertum Aubrey's head…

Sirius flopped down in the seat next to Lily, and chuckled at her apparent confusion and then flashed her his best movie star grin.

"What? Who did you expect, Remus?" Sirius asked, grinning again. James stood, somewhat awkwardly in the middle of the compartment, obviously wanting to leave, however Sirius was now settled and it was obvious they would share the train ride with the girls in their compartment. James sat down on the seat closest to the door, as Remus entered and took the seat next to Jessica who was blushing profusely.

"To be quite honest, yes." Lily answered. "But you weren't even a Prefect?" Lily added, now aimed at James, it sounded slightly harsher out loud than it did in her head. She recoiled. "Sorry, that was harsh." She blushed slightly as James somewhat winced. He nodded and shrugged slightly.

"I don't know…I was just as confused as you when it arrived." James spoke, his eyes directed straight at hers. As much as he had calmed down his antics and concentrate don being her friend, Lily knew from the look in James' eyes that he was most definitely not over her, despite what he said, she saw the disappointment in his eyes, he felt like he'd let her down, and Lily felt the butterflies return to her stomach, drills and hammers at the ready. _Damn it!_ She thought, she was hoping they'd found someone else to bug. Lily tried to look away, however her eyes kept being drawn towards James and his Head Boy badge.

"So Lily," Remus asked, tearing Lily's eyes away from James. "How was your summer?" Lily forced a smile; she noted Remus looked tired, purple bags hung under his eyes; their usual sparkle however was not missing.

"Great." Lily grimaced. Alice raised an eyebrow, she'd been the one on the end of Lily's ranting letters about her sister, however she said nothing. "How was yours?" Lily asked to distract Remus from her summer, she had glossed over the details of her summer in her letters to Remus, she trusted him 100%, but she didn't feel like relaying the information again, sometimes it was too painful to explain.

"Not too bad." Remus replied. "Went on holiday with mum and dad, spent a bit of time at Potter Manor, a lot of time doing nothing." He smiled and his whole face seemed to light up.

"Where's Peter?" Hestia asked a minute or two later, she asked her question of everyone, but her gaze drifted over to Sirius. The group looked towards Sirius; but he seemed increasingly engrossed with the sleeve of his robes, leaving Hestia in somewhat awkward silence, so Remus cut in.

"Haven't seen him since we were on the Platform, hey maybe he missed the train!" he suggested, James chuckled slightly but Sirius ignored any evidence of conversation. Lily elbowed him and he looked up to her, flashed her a grin and then returned to fiddling with his sleeve. Hestia sent Remus a silent thank you, and he nodded appreciatively. Remus understood something had obviously gone on between Hestia and Sirius, the two of them had grown close towards the end of last year, they insisted that they were just friends, although everyone knew it was more than that by the way the two of them beamed as they cuddled together on the sofa in the common room while watching James and Peter play Lily and Remus at wizards chess. Now, something serious seemed to have happened for Sirius to be ignoring her. Hestia hadn't mentioned anything in her letters Lily noted, but having said that Lily hadn't mentioned the full details of Petunia's news to Hestia either, she had wanted to tell her best friend face to face, so maybe that was it, she was waiting to tell her later, Lily hoped…

James who had been uncharacteristically quiet up until this point offered Hestia a sympathetic glance after sensing the change in atmosphere, Hestia smiled weakly and stared out the window disappointedly, it seemed some things didn't change.

Awkward silence ensued, no-one spoke for a few moments, the only noise was from peals of laughter from the next door compartment and the train as it clicked along the tracks. Even the resident chatterbox Jessica held her tongue.

The silence was only broken around five minutes later when Peter's face appeared at the compartment door. Sirius released a deep laugh, Peter was a sight! Scorch marks covered his robes, his eyebrows appeared singed and his face was blackened with soot and the ends of his hair glowed with an orange light, as if they had recently been on fire.

"Peter, what happened?!" Alice exclaimed, seemingly the only person who didn't find the whole debarkle thoroughly amusing, bar James who looked torn between disapproval and amusement. The group collapsed into quiet giggles as Peter entered the compartment. Closing the door behind him, Peter looked sheepish.

"Exploding snap, the third years forced me to play with them, only thing was they enchanted the cards to always explode on me…" he explained, blushing slightly. "Two Ravenclaw prefects had to come to put me out," he gestured towards his hair, "One of them owled Professor McGonagall, I'm guessing I'll have detention when I get to school." He concluded glumly as he slumped into the empty seat next to Sirius.

James looked physically annoyed, Lily noted, she'd been watching him from the corner of her eye; she knew James had noticed her gaze but he had not said a single word which Lily found strange; even last year he would have made a sarcastic comment to which Lily would roll her eyes and try to hide a smile.

"Good, you should know exploding snap is banned on the Hogwarts express. Five points from Gryffindor for stupid behaviour" James replied, attempting to put on a stern front but his eyes betrayed him. Jessica didn't know who looked more shocked, Lily or Sirius who were both staring open mouthed. Peter nodded solemnly and somewhat annoyed. Sirius didn't know what to say… all he could stammer was "Prongs?" the Marauders had nicknamed themselves sometime in fifth year, Lily didn't know why though, she guessed it was a secret code that no-one else understood, if you asked her, they just sounded silly.

"I'm Head Boy Padfoot, I'm taking this seriously." He replied, a small smile creeping across his face as Lily nodded approvingly. James caught Lily's eye and they shared a smile for a second, then she looked away and silence once again fell upon the group.

After a few minutes Jessica had, had enough.

"Kumquat!" she announced loudly, everyone turned to stare at her confused, but a determined grin appeared across her face.

"Excuse me?" Sirius asked, although he too was now growing a smile.

"I don't know, it's something dad does when there's a silence. He says a random word to stimulate conversation and break the ice." She added with a giggle, Peter began to laugh out loud.

"That's such a strange idea." Alice managed to squeak in between laughs.

"Works though doesn't it?" Remus asked, too beginning to laugh.

"Looks like it worked." Remus concluded "The random word thing." He added, a few minutes later when everyone had started up their own conversations. Lily was chatting animatedly with Sirius, James and Peter about something or the other, Peter didn't seem too interested, however James was listening intently, and Alice and Hestia were comparing the shades of nail polish that the two of them were wearing.

"Seems so." Jessica beamed, blushing slightly at the compliment from Remus Lupin and feeling her heart rate increase rapidly. Out of the window Hogwarts castle became a tiny spot on the horizon, standing out against the pale blue of the sky. _Maybe this year won't be so bad after all_ she mused as she continued her conversation with Remus, still smiling.

**Authors note: I hope you liked the new chapter 2 – chapters 3 and 4, as well as 38 shouldn't be too long now (she types hopefully!) remember to review! xxx**


	3. The Sorting Ceremony

**Authors note: so, this is the rewritten chapter 3! I'm still not 100% happy with it, but more so than the previous one! **

**So, in a review (from chapter 37!) someone suggested doing a little recap paragraph at the top of each new chapter, so if you guys want it, I'll try to do it! So I'll be adding a recap paragraph at the top of each new chapter – if you think you know the whole story, you can just skip it **** as usual, if you read this chapter and prefer the old one, let me know and I'll send you it **** right, thank you and remember to review!**

_**Recap: Lily gets her Head Girl badge and wonders who the Head Boy is, she thinks it'll be Remus or Benjy Fenwick, her fellow prefects and get a massive shock when it is James Potter who gets the badge. James acts more responsible and surprises Lily (and Sirius!) by taking his position seriously, Lily realises having James Potter as a Head Boy might not be so bad, if only she could ignore the butterflies in her stomach every time she looked at him…**_

Chapter 3 – The Sorting Ceremony

Lily's breath caught in her throat as she entered the Great Hall, it was easy to forget how truly magical Hogwarts was during the school year or holidays, but now on September 1st the Great Hall looked stunning. Lily's sense of euphoria was somewhat dampened when a sudden pang of sadness hit her; her friends seemed to come to the same thought.

"Just think," Alice said, the other three listened intently. "That's the last time we'll walk through those doors on the first day of term." Hestia squeezed Lily's hand as they all realised Alice was right, this was their last year of school, the last year of Hogwarts. This time next year they wouldn't be boarding the Hogwarts Express on September 1st, but going out into the real world, getting real jobs and facing the harsh reality of the unsettled world outside of the confines of the Hogwarts Castle.

The three girls turned back to face the doors, and it truly hit them, this _really_ was their last year, next year they would not be coming back. The girls were silent for a few moments as they somewhat glumly made their way down the Gryffindor table to somewhere near the front. Just as they had taken their seats, they were joined by the Marauders and Frank Longbottom, another Gryffindor student from their year.

"You mind if I sit here?" Frank asked, gesturing to the seat next to Alice, who blushed pink but nodded. Jessica rolled her brown eyes as Hestia watched them intently, for a few seconds Alice said nothing and stared at her lap.

"For Goodness sake Alice – talk to the boy!" Jessica hissed from the seat next to her, on a command from Hestia across the table who was grinning at the two of them. "You've had a thing for him since fifth year – now act on it!" Jessica added. Alice, whose face was now returning to a normal colour, swallowed and started up a conversation with Frank, somewhat shakily but it was conversation nevertheless.

The Marauders flopped down in the seats the other side of the girls to Sirius and Remus next to Lily and Hestia, and James and Peter next to Jessica, Alice and Frank. Remus smiled at Jessica and blush crept up the cheeks. Remus hadn't noticed Jessica's blush, but Hestia had, she noted it and decided to confront Jess about this later. Frank and Alice seemed to now be in comfortable conversation which including less stuttering and more flirtatious giggles, Lily had to stop herself from rolling her eyes as another set of Alice's giggles could be heard over her conversation with Remus with random (inappropriate) interjections from Sirius.

Several minutes later, Professor McGonagall, followed by a bunch of anxious first years entered the Great hall. Memories of Lily's own sorting came flooding back, she was convinced someone would jump out at any second and yell _'Got you!'_ and that the whole thing would just be a cruel prank, however that thankfully didn't happen. Lily smiled to herself at remembering the excitement of being sorted into the same house as her new friend Hestia and meeting Alice and Jessica for first time whilst huddled together waiting to be sorted. Then she remembered the look Severus had given her for not being sorted into Slytherin, unconsciously her eyes trailed over the table decorated with green and silver until her eyes found the boy she'd been looking for. Her eyes lingered on him for a second, before she let out a sigh and returned her attention to the sorting ceremony which was about to start. No-one else had noticed Lily's wandering eyes, no-one that was except James who had watched her demeanour change as the memory filled her brain.

"You alright?" James asked, squeezing her hand lightly from across the table. The sudden contact made Lily jump, but she didn't pull her hand away when she realised whose skin was against hers, James noted.

"Um... yeah, just remembered something." She stammered, slightly flustered. James pulled his hand away and smiled, he'd flustered her – was that a good thing?

"Good." He replied, her eyes still trained on his hand. She looked up and smiled back and James struggled to hold onto the rational part of his brain. It was just a smile, it means nothing more he tried to tell himself, but then he caught the sparkle in her eyes and wondered, was there something more going on? Sirius arched an eyebrow at James who shrugged at the look from his best friend and grinned cheekily, as the sorting ceremony started.

The students all seemed to notice that Professor Dumbledore was strangely not present for the beginning of the sorting ceremony, no-one was quite sure why, even some of the teachers looked slightly confused at his to whereabouts. Professor Flitwick and Professor Sprout exchanged glances and shrugged, Professor Hubert, the Divination teacher, stared at the ceiling apparently not interested in the sorting ceremony. The Astronomy and Care of Magical Creatures conducted a hushed conversation in which their eyes kept returning to the empty Headmaster's chair. Professor McGonagall however, pressed on with the ceremony.

Aisthorpe, Penelope, was the first to be sorted, she went to Hufflepuff. Lily looked down the Gryffindor table, there were relatively large gaps in between the groups of people, the spaces of the seventh years who had left, and then Lily wondered how many students they'd get that year, 12? 13? Maybe more? Their year had been a relatively small one with only 9 students, herself, Alice, Hestia, Jessica, the Marauders and Frank Longbottom, hopefully they'd get more this year.

Two or three students in, Peter's stomach rumbled loudly and caused the seventh years to break into fits of giggles, Professor McGonagall sent them a furious glare, before returning to conducting the sorting ceremony.

"What? I'm hungry!" Peter protested quietly and Lily giggled again, she looked up to the Teachers table, Dumbledore was still absent, it was strange that the Headmaster would be absent; he never missed the sorting ceremony, let alone the Welcoming feast. Lily's stomach growled, albeit more silently than Peter's, she rubbed her stomach and tried to focus on the sorting going on before her but her eyes trailed back to James.

Lily and James locked eyes again but she quickly looked away. She couldn't get her head round the fact that James Potter was Head Boy. It didn't seem possible, but yet the proof was there right in front of her – the red badge pinned to his robes inscribed with HB. She wondered if Dumbledore had gone slightly mad, maybe he was in his office crying over his poor judgement? Lily wondered, then she decided that was mean and pushed the thought from her brain. It was true that James had somewhat cleaned up his act over the last year, fair enough he still got the odd detention and played pranks with the Marauders, but it wouldn't be Hogwarts without those! Lily wondered if that was why he'd got the badge, he'd shown development over the past year and shown he was up to the job? His friendship with Lily was evidence of James' flourishing maturity and this year he _did _seem different this year, not something physical but something internal. Something about James seemed different, Lily couldn't put her finger on it, James seemed confident without being cocky, and responsible, it seemed implausible but he did. He had helped the second years into carriages and herded the first years towards Hagrid with Lily, and all without being sarcastic or rude, that must be it, James had gained a sense of responsibility and Lily thought it suited him. Although she had still caught him watching her, he hadn't made one inappropriate comment, Lily almost missed them… Even during their new friendship last year James couldn't resist the odd comment about her backside or legs every now and again. Almost as if he knew she was thinking about him, he threw her one of his wonky smiles and she couldn't help but grin back.

Once again Lily's thoughts returned to her own sorting, she wondered why the sorting hat had chosen Gryffindor for her, the hat had spent 7 or 8 minutes deciding on which house to put her in, switching between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw, and even Hufflepuff and Slytherin for thirty seconds or so. She still sometimes had doubts about her own sorting, it was clear she was clever, her marks reflected that, so why wasn't she in Ravenclaw? She wasn't in the house for the intelligent; she was in Gryffindor, the house for the brave. She didn't think she was brave, she was just a girl from Cokeworth Manchester, _who knows_ she thought, _maybe I'll save the world one day!_ She had a little chuckle to herself at that, _like that would happen_ she mentally added.

Hestia was too lost in her own thoughts to take the slightest bit of notice of the sorting ceremony, it was pretty boring anyway. The topic that monopolised her thoughts a certain wizard named Sirius Black. She didn't know what was going on between the two of them, everything had been so perfect over the summer, then he'd just taken off, stopped replying to her owls and ignoring any attempt she made to contact him and then today – he ignored her face to face too. _What in Merlin's name is wrong with him?! She _thought. Then there were the rumours about him and Marlene McKinnon, the pretty witch a year ahead of them, if they were true… she didn't think about that, the possibility of it being true made her blood boil. The two of them had been so close and everything had been just where she wanted it, just the right level of commitment, and then it had all gone to pot. Hestia curled her hands into fists thinking of Marlene McKinnon again, Lily noticed.

"You alright Hest?" she enquired, worried Hestia might actually punch someone. Hestia seemed to snap out of it at the sound of Lily's voice.

"Um, yeah… fine." She replied, slightly embarrassed she hid her hands under the table to hide the crescent shaped indents in her skin where she'd dug her nails into the soft flesh on her palm. Then the voice they'd all wanted to hear filled the room.

"Students! I apologise for my lateness. Professor, please continue." Professor Dumbledore spoke, gesturing to Professor McGonagall, his voice was barely louder than anyone else's in the room yet he commanded silence, no-one else spoke when Professor Dumbledore was speaking. Lily smiled at him, which he returned with a slight nod of his head. Lily felt safe when Dumbledore was around, he really was the greatest wizard alive, and that wasn't a bad thing to have around in the current climate. With everything that was going on outside of the Hogwarts walls, it was reassuring to have someone like him around.

"Wilson, Taylor" was placed in Gryffindor and the sorting ceremony was finished. A small blonde girl with big blue eyes removed the sorting hat and merrily skipped off towards the other first years now settled at the Gryffindor table, which was now completely full, the ranks now filled.

Professor McGonagall seemed in high spirits, her house had grown significantly over the last hour; swells of new students had joined the house of the brave Godric Gryffindor, the house which she herself had been sorted into on her first day at Hogwarts. Standing up and straightening his robes, Professor Dumbledore held his hand for silence. Instantly silence fell over the students.

"Welcome," he said simply, the corner of his mouth pulling into a smile "To those students, new and old! I know the world is an uncertain place at the moment…" pausing, the Headmaster looked towards Minerva McGonagall; hushed whispers broke out amongst the students but were silenced as Dumbledore opened his mouth to speak again. "But, I promise that Hogwarts will always be the same. Here for whoever wishes to further their education and the development of their magic. It will always be a safe haven for those who need it. And lastly, I would like to say thank you to all our Prefects from the previous years and good luck to our new fifth year prefects. Will all Prefects please stand." He gestured for the students to stand, six students from each house, a boy and a girl from the fifth, sixth and seventh years got to their feet, Remus and Alice stood. Alice had been appointed as the new Gryffindor Prefect to replace Lily and once again balance the amount of prefects, as the Head Boy himself had not been a prefect. Normally a new Prefect would not have been appointed, but due to the odd number, which would wreak havoc on the patrol schedule, Alice had been appointed to cover Lily's old patrol with Remus.

Alice looked terrified. Attempting to reassure her Remus smiled, it however had little effect but Alice was thankful all the same. A round of applause ensued.

"And finally," silence once again covered the student body, everyone knew the announcement for Head students was coming, everyone guessed it would be Lily Evans, however since James had been cooped up in the train compartment for the whole ride to Hogwarts, no-one yet knew of his identity. A few glances were thrown in the direction of Remus, he was not wearing the badge, a few more to Benjy Fenwick, but he wasn't wearing the badge either, some even looked towards Frank, no-one paid looked towards James, which unsettled him more than he realised. James felt himself move his robes to cover the badge, then stopped, he was proud of the badge, what was he hiding it for? "A welcome to our new Head Girl, Lily Evans," standing confidently, Lily felt a surge of pride, Head Girl was the thing she had been working towards since her first year, and the look on the Slytherin prefect, Danha Greengrass' face had been priceless, seems purity of blood didn't guarantee everything. "And our Head Boy James Potter." Nervously James joined Lily in standing. A huge round of applause started, Lily doubted much of it was for her; James as it happened was a popular student, she was well liked herself, but not in the same realm of James or his friends. The Marauders were the guys that every other boy wanted to be and the guys every girl wanted to be with. Still Lily found amusement at how uncomfortable James looked, dragging his hand through his already messy black hair; he looked like he might vomit. There were hushed whispers up and down every table; could a Marauder really be Head Boy? It seemed so! Wrinkling his nose, James pushed his square glasses up his nose, he looked towards Lily and smiled, returning his smile, she sat down.

_The new James is actually growing on me…_ Lily thought to herself, at realising what she'd just thought, she tried to supress the feeling of butterflies that were once again trying to break free from her torso, and this time they'd brought friends, friends with dynamite. Her stomach exploded with jitters. Yes, she felt something when she looked at James Potter, but this wasn't a crush, definitely not. _'I will never ever ever like James Potter. And that I promise myself.' _

Watching Lily's face, Albus Dumbledore knew exactly what was going on inside Lily Evans' head, she might have been able to hide it from her friends and even herself, but she couldn't hide it from him, he knew her too well. _'We'll see Miss Evans, we'll see…'_ pulling himself to his feet once again, he felt his stomach grumble, _'About time!'_

"And without further ado, let the feast begin!"

**Authors note: hope you like, remember to review!**


	4. The Feast

** Authors note: new version of chapter 4, hope you like it!**

_**Recap: the sorting ceremony commences and Professor Dumbledore is absent, the students and the teachers are confused as to his whereabouts. He arrives half way through, and afterwards Lily and James are announced as Head Boy and Girl, to raucous applause, which Lily guesses is mostly for James! Alice is announced as the new Prefect to replace Lily on patrol and is absolutely terrified. Lily acknowledges the feelings she has towards James but denies that it's a crush – Dumbledore however knows Lily is just denying her feelings and the Welcoming feast starts. **_

Chapter 4 – The Feast

"Is that good Sirius?" James teased. Sirius nodded enthusiastically, holding a chicken leg in each hand, he took bites from them alternately, moaning in satisfaction. Remus laughed and took a bite of the pie he'd just cut into, steaming pastry filled his mouth as he flicked his sandy coloured hair from his face. Conversation ceased as the group tucked into the feast, different meats, breads and other favourites lined the table, all lovingly prepared by the in castle House Elves.

"When's the prank going to start?" Peter whispered across the table to Sirius, who instantly looked in his direction furiously.

"Sshhh Wormtail! You'll give the game away!" Sirius urged his mouth now thankfully empty of chicken leg. Peter looked sheepish.

"Sorry..." he mumbled, stuffing another bread roll into his mouth. James looked around warily, suddenly very aware of the eyes from members of his own table, and those from others, staring at him.

"Beginning of dessert Pete." Remus answered, slightly more sympathetic. Peter nodded, more relaxed. James was suddenly hit with a feeling of anxiety, should he really be doing this? He _was_ Head Boy after all, and what would Lily think? Surely she wouldn't mind one last back to school prank, and to be honest it wasn't a prank really, a back to school show, yes, that settled James slightly, she wouldn't mind if it was a show…

It was customary for the Marauders to pull a prank of some sorts at the Welcome Feast; every year since they'd started at Hogwarts they'd pulled one. It had started when in their first year when Sirius had accidentally sat on his wand and managed to blow up half the Great Hall; since then it had become Hogwarts tradition, the welcome feast just wasn't complete with a Marauders prank. Every year the Marauders' pranks had become more elaborate and difficult, complicated spell work, transfiguration knowledge and Charms expertise was needed to pull of the extravagant feats of magic, but this year they had stripped it back. The prank, well it wasn't a prank, more like a plan, their plan was one of their most simple ones, nevertheless the spell work was still incredibly difficult. Peter had come up with the idea half way through their fifth year, but they'd been waiting for the right opportunity to use it, now the time was right. They'd spent all summer at Potter Manor perfectly their skills to pull it off successfully. The four boys were aware of eyes from all directions sneaking glances in their directions, somewhat nervously. Some of the older students looked nervous, they knew a prank of sorts was coming, they seemed to be suspecting just about everything around them, in previous year the Marauders had put potions in the pumpkin juice to make everyone sing soprano for a week and enchanted the Christmas turkey's to dance up and down the tables, throwing vegetables at students and teachers alike, they had every right to fear their goblets of pumpkin juice and to eye the sausage rolls suspiciously.

Eventually everyone was full, Remus complained he was carrying a food baby, which Sirius had named Nigel and Doris - convinced Remus was carrying food baby twins - and Peter was complaining of stomach ache.

"Can I be godfather?" Sirius asked as the plates were cleared away and left over food disappeared from the tables.

"What?" Remus asked, his brain whirring from the anticipation of their plan.

"To your food babies? Can I be the Godfather?" Sirius asked again, his tone teasing.

"You? Godfather?" Remus chuckled. "That'd be a sight!" he added to which Sirius pouted.

"You'd make an awful Godfather Padfoot! You'd want to feed to poor kid fire whiskey at three and would find it funny if their first word was a swear word!" James added before ruffling his raven coloured hair. Sirius seemed to consider the idea for a few moments, then nodded in agreement, that sounded like something he'd do! It was only then that Sirius realised students were still watching them, waiting for the inevitable, he flashed them a grin and a cheesy thumbs up, to which two fourth year Hufflepuff girls blushed and giggled to each other. James looked uneasy, Remus sensed his friend's unease.

"Calm down Prongs, it'll be fine." Remus soothed.

"Are you sure Moony? Really sure? I can't have this go wrong, I'm Head Boy…" James added concern evident in his hazel eyes. Remus nodded, a smile forming on his lips at his friends expense. Peter sat on his hands, the excitement inside him had built inside him and was showing itself in a nervous fidget for which Sirius had scolded him. The other three wriggled nervously in their seats, James still felt uncomfortable. He knew he should probably curb the pranking, after all the Head Boy badge was important to him, he wouldn't have though it would be if you'd asked him last year, but now it was pinned to his robes it meant a huge deal to him. Plus, Lily had often voiced her disapprovement of the Marauders pranks, if he was going to win her over this probably wasn't the best start…

The tables were now completely clear and silence fell over the hall, Professor Dumbledore looked expectantly at the four boys, as did much of the student body, some excited, some nervous.

"Now." Remus hissed. Each Marauder pulled out their wand, being careful to keep them hidden under the table and out of sight, each muttering different spells and charms that would hopefully come together to form what they were expecting.

The first years looked on bemused, from other tables it just looked like the boys were muttering to each other, only the few students around them knew that the Marauders concealed their wands under the table and their mutterings were actually spells. In a few seconds all the spells were cast, the boys slipped their wands back into their pockets and looked around, pretending to be unaware of the hundreds of pairs of eyes on them. For a few seconds nothing happened, students broke out into hushed whisperings wondering what was going on.

"It's not working!" Sirius hissed, nervously watching the ceiling above them. Lily noticed his glances; she looked to the ceiling but saw nothing other than the enchanted ceiling.

"Give it a second Padfoot!" Remus explained and with that, a single red spark glittered above their heads, it grew into two sparks, then four, then eight, the number of sparks doubling hundreds of times a second. Then the ceiling exploded in a shower of fireworks which rained down on the students like a glitter rain shower, filling the hall with the kind of glow that only came from fireworks. Students gasped, others tried to catch the downpour of glitter, the first years giggled and laughed as they were doused in shining sparks. Slowly the downpour stopped, aside from in a concentrated downpour above the Gryffindor table, although even that was beginning to thin, eventually stopping altogether, the fireworks now forming a tightly packed firework ball that began to change, morphing into four legs, a muscular body, a lean tail, then a head and shimmering gold mane, the form of a giant lion – the symbol of Gryffindor house, a firework lion with its mane aglow. The firework lion roared, the tables and windows rattled. His sparkling eyes scanned the room, people clapped and cheered, it roared again; considering the lion was made entirely from fireworks, the sound was deafening. Lily covered her ears but looked on in awe, not quite believing what was in front of her eyes. It playfully waved its sparkling paw between the Hufflepuff and Gryffindor tables, students ducked underneath their benches to avoid being hit by its giant firework paw. The Marauders clapped as the lion excitedly tried to coax the students out from under the table. The students laughed and jokingly patted its paw away from them. The firework lion looked hurt, but once its eyes settled on the Marauders its playful nature returned, at tried to swipe them away with its paw, but they wafted it away chuckling. James sneaked a glance towards Lily; she was clapping and laughing with Hestia, surely a good sign! Without warning, the firework lion roared and then exploded, showering the hall not in glitter but with red and gold confetti, it continued to pour from the enchanted ceiling, showering the whole hall in Gryffindor coloured strips of paper, getting stuck in people's hair, robes and goblets of pumpkin juice. The confetti rain eventually thinned until a few odd pieces fell. But no, the Marauders were not finished. The boys pointed their wands towards the ceilings and muttered something under their breath, their wands each emitting red sparks. Then the boys stood back to admire their handiwork. Gryffindor house and the other three houses sat and watched in awe as swirly black letters, resembling the handwriting of Remus Lupin, began to form in the air: "BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE MARAUDERS, MOONY, WORMTAIL, PADFOOT AND PRONGS! HAVE A GREAT YEAR! GO ON GRYFFINDOR!" the whole hall burst into raucous laughter and thunderous applause, even the teachers and Head Girl stood and clapped, Jessica put her fingers into her mouth and whistled, Peter and Remus grinned. Benjy Fenwick from the Ravenclaw table gave them a thumbs up, Isaac Athold grinned from his side. Meghan Daley, Bailey Cooper and Reginald Cattermole clapped enthusiastically from the Hufflepuff table; even the Slytherin students were laughing and joking together.

"Well, that was worth the wait wasnt it?" Professor Dumbledore laughed from the top table once the applause had died slightly. Sirius clapped James across the back, Remus high fived Peter, who exchanged grins with James. "Hogwarts really won't be the same without you boys! Now everyone, I raise a toast." The Headmaster cleared his throat and raised his goblet of pumpkin, in which floated several pieces of red confetti. "To our seventh years!" he toasted above the noise of the students, the other teachers copied his example and then the students followed suit.

"To the Seventh years!" the whole hall chorused before taking a swig of their pumpkin juice, laughter erupted from the Ravenclaw table, it seemed a second year had accidentally swallowed a piece of gold confetti that was floating in his drink – much the Marauders amusement.

"This is going to be our best yet!" Sirius smiled. James looked at his three friends, this was really their last year, it was really happening, but looking around the hall he couldn't help but feel happy, with a small amount of confetti still pouring from the ceiling and their big black letters still emblazoned across the enchanted ceiling, everyone laughing and clapping with their goblets raised, it was hard to imagine a more perfect place than this.

**Authors note: as promised, a rewritten version of chapter 4, it's quite short but then again I don't want to change the plot line so I'm keeping to everything that was in the original chapter, hope you like! Xxx**

**PS remember to review!**


	5. The Girls Dormitory

**Authors note: reworked version of chapter 5! Hope you like it **** remember to review!**

_**Recap: the main course of the Welcome Feast draws to a close and the student's body is looking expectantly towards the Marauders anticipating their prank. The boys don't disappoint, showering the Hall in red glitter that pours down like rain from the ceiling, the glitter then changes into a firework lion who playfully tries to swipe the Hufflepuff table. The lion explodes in a mass of red and gold confetti, and Dumbledore toasts to the seventh years - the Marauders agree this is going to be their best year yet. **_

Chapter 5 – The girl's dormitory

"Welcome home girls!" Jessica declared pushing open the door to their dormitory, the same room they'd all shared since their very first day at Hogwarts, since they were all four foot tall first years about to embark on their Hogwarts journey. The room itself hadn't changed much since the very first time they'd walked into it on this day six years ago, their very first day at Hogwarts. The decoration hadn't changed the same cream walls and swirled plaster on the ceiling, the same deep red curtains around their beds and the bay window as well as the duvet covers. The room was furnished and laid out like any other of the Gryffindor dorms – but none of the other dorms would feel as cosy to them as theirs. The room was well loved, the makeup stains on the curtains and the scorch marks on the floor from Alice's third year Charms experiment were evidence of that, but despite its imperfections, it was theirs and they loved it. The only change to their dorm was the plaque on the outside that now read _'Seventh Year Girls'_ and its position on the stairs; their doorway started at the bottom of the stairs in their first year and had gradually worked higher up the stairs throughout their years at Hogwarts, finally coming to rest at the top of the staircase where the seventh year dormitories were always found. The room was fairly spacious with room for practical application of spells or as Jessica had found out in second year, enough room to fit in two consecutive cartwheels. Light flooded in through the large bay window at the far end of the room, as the sun began to set behind on the horizon the room was filled with shades of copper and gold from the lowering sun, their shadows creating seven foot tall doppelgangers of themselves across the walls as they unpacked. Jessica couldn't help but smile as she caught sight of the view from the window; she took a moment out of her unpacking to just admire the view. The rolling hills covered in a carpet of green grass surrounding the Hogwarts castle calmed her beating heart, as did the silhouette of the Quidditch stadium in the distance.

Five beds were arranged around the edge of the room, although only four were actually used, Dorcas Meadowes their fifth roommate had left after fifth year to join a Quidditch Academy in the North of Wales, and since then the bed had been left empty, usually a dumping ground for anything the girls didn't feel like keeping in the wardrobes or under their beds.

Giving up on unpacking and kicking her trunk under her bed, Alice flopped in front of the fire that was burning brightly in the hearth. Hestia – having unpacked very quickly – joined her, basking in its warm glow. If asked, Lily would describe the rooms present state as neat, although she knew it wouldn't stay that was for long, Jessica, who had now returned to her unpacking, was throwing her clothes wildly around the room in an attempt to find her quidditch gloves in the never ending region that was her trunk. Alice seemed to have come to the same conclusion as Lily as a pair of jeans and one lone shin guard flew over her head landing the other side of the unoccupied bed; this room was never going to stay tidy….

Lily eventually finished unpacking and flopped down on her bed, the closest to the window on the left side, next to Alice's and opposite Hestia's, a wave of exhaustion threatened to overcome her. Trying to shake the tired feeling from her brain, Lily pulled herself into a sitting position and leant against her headboard, yawning she rubbed her face, then noticed all her friends were staring expectantly at her, all wearing matching cheesy grins.

"What?!" Lily questioned, her voice slightly higher than she expected. Twirling a loose strand of red hair around her finger, she cautiously stared back at her friends, her chipped silver nail varnish glinting somewhat in the now dimming light.

"What's going on with you and Potter?" Hestia interrogated, failing terribly in her attempt to keep her face deadpan. Lily broke into fits of giggles as Jessica shot her an accusatory glance. Lily too began to giggle.

"There's nothing going on between me and Potter." Lily explained. "And there won't ever be!" she added, ignoring the knots her stomach was tying itself in in her stomach at the mention of his name.

"What's so funny Miss Evans?" Alice quipped, her eyes ablaze in the dim light.

"Just me and Potter, together? It's comical! That and Hestia's face, that was quite amusing too." Lily answered, casting a teasing glance towards her best friend, who silently protested, and folded her arms, pouting and pretending to sulk.

"See, we told you!" Alice hissed at Jessica who looked crestfallen.

"I still think they'd be damn cute together." Jessica shrugged, Lily had heard this speech from Jessica at least one a fortnight since their fourth year, '_You should ask him out Lily! It's obvious he likes you and you won't even give him a chance! What harm would one date do?' _Hestia had heard Jess' lecture to Lily on James nearly as many times Lily herself had, but for the first time in a long while Hestia felt herself actually listening as she clambered onto her bed. As Jessica's words washed over her, Hestia couldn't figure out why Lily wouldn't want to go out with James, he was naturally good looking, smart, witty and he'd changed his whole attitude over the past year. Plus, Hestia had seen the way Lily looked at him, and the way he looked at her, they were both obviously liked each other, just James was too scared to admit it and Lily too stubborn.

Lost in her thoughts Hestia didn't see Lily creep up beside her bed and prepare to lunge.

"Boo!" Lily yelled, jumping on top of her best friend, she pinned her down with her knees and tickled her until she was red in the face and gasping for air.

"Eeee! Lily. Get. Off. Me! I. Cant. Breathe!" Hestia squealed, trying to push Lily away from her but Lily had her pinned down.

"Admit there's nothing going on between me and Potter then!"

"No, no, never!" Hestia squeaked, her breath drawing from her lungs in ragged breaths.

"Well then I'll keep tickling!" Lily laughed.

"Okay, okay, I was wrong about you and James now stop tickling me, I CAN'T BRETAHE!" Hestia whined, her cheeks bright red and her hair static. Reluctantly, Lily stopped her attack on Hestia, who was now laid flat on back attempting to fill her lungs with air, giggling to herself. Lily, who had past giggling, was all out cackling, tears forming in her eyes, staggered over to Jessica's bed and collapsed onto it. Jessica's bed was now empty, as the occupant herself had laughed so much she'd lost her balance and rolled clean off onto the polished wood floor where she was still laughing uncontrollably on her back, kicking her legs wildly in the air. Alice was laughing so hard that no sound came out; clapping her hands together she was forming quite an accurate impression of a circus sea lion. Eventually all the girls managed to subdue their wild laughter and wipe the tears from their eyes.

"Merlin's pants that was funny!" Alice exclaimed, taking deep breaths and fanning her face with her hands to try and banish the red fluster in her cheeks.

"I second that!" Jessica chipped in.

"I disagree." Hestia grumbled, but her face betrayed her, a smile pulling at her lips, her curly hair now stood up at odd angles thanks to Lily's tickling attack. A few moments of comfortable silence fell upon the girls, and then Hestia remembered something that she had mentally stored for later.

"Jessica?" Hestia asked in her sweetest voice. Her body was still rooted to the floor but the blonde turned her head to face her friend, a look of confusion and worry crept across her features.

"What?" Jessica squirmed, not sure if she would like where Hestia's conversation would take them. Lily beamed; she was enjoying seeing Jess squirm, thinking of it as payback for her own interrogation earlier.

"You blushed a lot around Remus earlier, care to explain?" Hestia asked, her tone still innocently sweet. Jessica proceeded to blush maroon.

"Nope." She squeaked, attempting to hide her face beneath her hands to avoid eye contact.

"Sorry, I didn't quite catch that, could you repeat it please?" Alice teased in mock polite tones. Still sat on the floor, Alice scooched over the where Jessica was laid next to her bed. Alice pulled her best friend up into a sitting position and pulled her hands from her face, pinning them to the floor with her own. Alice eyeballed her friend seriously; Jessica struggled not to laugh as Alice's eyeball came dangerously close to her own.

"Repeat or I'll tickle you like I did to Hestia." Lily warned, wriggling her fingers over the top of Jessica's bed and into the blonde witch's face.

"It's okay Lily, Al. I heard her." Hestia smirked; no-one else deserved a tickling like that. "She said, I have a big fat crush on Remus Lupin and I'm madly in love with him. I want to have his babies and ride off into the sunset with them." Hestia triumphantly finished high fiving Lily who had since leapt off Jessica's bed and joined Hestia on hers. Jessica looked horrified; Hestia and Lily dissolved into cackles and clutched their sides, fearing they might split.

"No!" Jessica answered too quickly. "Why would I have a crush on Remus? I mean he's a Marauder for merlin's sake!" Jessica floundered, her argument flailing, her blush deepening even further, much to Alice's amusement who was still only an inch or two from her best friend's face.

"I fear the lady doth protest too much!" Lily laughed. Sensing defeat, Jessica exhaled slowly, trying to avoid her friend's gaze, although that was hard in Alice's case.

"Fine, I have a crush on Remus Lupin, are you happy now?" Jessica admitted.

"Aww my baby has a crush!" Alice squealed, throwing her arms around Jessica's neck.

"But please don't tell anyone." Jessica pleaded, directing her pleads more towards Hestia than anyone else.

"I promise!" the other three chorused in unison.

"Pinky promise." Lily said, holding out her pinky finger. Jessica stared at her for a second before jumping up from her spot on the floor and entwining her littlest finger with Lily's and finally breaking out into a grin to replace the pensive expression that had been across her face.

"And on that note," Lily added, "I think we should call it a night!"

"Yes Head Girl!" Hestia saluted before pushing Lily off her bed and pulling the duvet up to her neck so just her head was visible. Lily grinned and pulled her curly hair from its top knot so her curls fell around her shoulders and down her back.

Mumbling their protests the other two girls climbed into their beds, although they both thought that bed sounded like a good idea.

The four girls cozied up in their covers and called out their good nights:

"Night Hestia! Don't let the basilisk bite!"

"Night Alice! And if the basilisk does bite, bite it back! "

"Night Lily! Don't let the Hippogriff bite!"

"Night Jess! And if it does bite, well you're in trouble!"

**Authors note: it's short but I hope you like it! Remember to review! I have once again, revisited this chapter and sorted out a few errors which I'd spotted, although as usual – no change to the plot!**


	6. The Boys Dormitory

**Authors note: new version of chapter 6! Remember to review! hope you like it **

_**Recap: the girls return to their dormitory after the Welcome feast, they all begin to unpack, apart from Alice who is too tired to bother. Hestia and Jessica interrogate Lily as to what is going on between her and James Potter; she denies anything ignoring the knots tying themselves in her stomach at the mention of his name. Attention switches to Jessica, who admits she has a crush on Remus after threats of tickling from Lily; the girls call out their goodnights and settle down for the night. **_

Chapter 6 – The boy's Dormitory

"Welcome home Boys!" Sirius sang out as the boys entered the threshold into their dormitory. Remus, Peter and James followed in behind him and grinned. This wasn't just their dormitory, this was the Marauders Headquarters, this was the centre of the greatest pranking organisation in all of Hogwarts history.

"It's good to be home." James sighed, ruffling Sirius' perfect hair as he sauntered past. Shooting daggers at his best friend, Sirius levitated his trunk onto his bed, looked at the mess inside it and gave up, he levitated it down under his bed, unpacking could wait until January. James left his suitcase unpacked at the end of his bed, Remus and Peter did the same, and the three boys flaked out on their beds, Sirius attempted to attend to his hair in the mirror hung on the wall beside James' bed, but gave up a moment later, favouring the wild look, he thought he looked a bit like James, a thought that thoroughly amused him.

The boy's room was almost a mirror image of the girl's dormitory on the other side of Gryffindor tower, it also took the top doorway on the boy's staircase and a fire crackled in its hearth filling the room with the scent of the fire as well as a warm glow that was greatly appreciated by all the occupants. The view from the bay window was almost identical to the girls', the beds were set out almost identically, five beds positioned around the room, the fifth also unused – Frank Longbottom had lasted all of two weeks sharing a dorm with the Marauders before he'd been moved into a new dormitory.

Sirius, eventually bored with admiring his reflection, turned to survey his friends, James was absently playing with a snitch – something he hadn't done in nearly a year, Peter was flicking through a textbook and Remus was already dozing asleep despite the orange evening light. A mischievous thought formed in Sirius' brain, but which of his of dorm mates would be the best victim for the plan that was coming together in his head? Narrowing his eyes in on his target, Sirius chose the sandy haired Marauder who was dozing in his bed. James noticed the narrowing of Sirius' grey eyes focused on Remus, he caught the snitch tightly in his hand, despite its flapping wings and watched to survey the carnage. Taking a few steps backwards, Sirius positioned himself in the open doorway, even Peter noticed now; the only one not aware was Remus who had started to snore lightly. Rocking back on his foot Sirius took a running leap and dive bombed onto Remus' bed, violently waking him up and indeed squashing the man himself. Sirius barked a laugh, his grey eyes sparkling, his plan had worked!

"Ooft!" Remus complained, his eyes blinking rapidly to adjust to the dimming light of the dormitory as opposed to the blackness of the inside of his eyelids. Yawning widely, Remus turned to address the lump that was Sirius Black who was still laid across his stomach snickering to himself.

"Did you have to do that?! If you wanted me awake why couldn't you have woken me a normal way?" Remus asked, breathily heavily. His chest wheezed slightly, having a Sirius Black land on you was not good for your health, of that he was sure. Rubbing his chest, he knew there'd be a bruise there tomorrow.

"You love me really Lupin!" Sirius smirked, clambering over Remus to climb off the other side of the bed, kicking Remus in the shin in the process. Scowling at his friend, who was now settled on his own bed, Remus pulled himself into a sitting position and crossed his legs, his elbows resting on his knees, indeed sulking.

"When is the next full moon?" Peter inquired after a few moments of silence. Peter loved the full moons, the sense of duty he felt at having to go ahead of the other two Marauders to paralyse the Whomping Willow was great, a feeling he would never tire of. Without him, Sirius and James wouldn't be able to sneak into the secret entrance to secret shack to help Remus through his painful transformations into his werewolf alter ego, without him, all of their hard work in becoming illegal animagi would have been wasted, completely useless.

Remus visibly winced.

"13 days." He looked pained, there had been a full moon what felt like only days ago and yet another was already looming. Remus rubbed his face ruggedly with his hands, it always took him longer to recover from a full moon when he was at home, the locked basement of his parent's country house was just not up to the job, the shrieking shack with his three best friends was the best solution for his 'furry little problem.'

"But that aaaaages away!" Sirius whined, elongating his vowel, James shot Sirius a filthy look, how could he say that? Getting up from his bed, James leant over to Sirius' and slapped his best friend over the back of the head with the palm of his hand. Seriously, Sirius needed to engage brain before speaking sometimes!

"What was that for?" Sirius complained.

"You know what for." James countered his tone still light. James gave Sirius a warning look. Sirius flipped his off with a middle finger salute and returned to the conversation with Remus.

"You want it closer, I want it further away." The sandy haired Marauder sighed. The other Marauders fell silent, initially Remus had tried to hide his 'furry little problem' as Sirius put it, but he couldn't hide it from his friends and dorm mates. After a lot of prodding, poking and thorough interrogation as well as some quick calculations on an astronomy chart the other three had worked out Remus' secret in their second year, Remus had avoided seeing them for as long as he could after that, convinced that his new found friends would abandon him now they knew the truth, after all they'd heard the rumours about the Black household and their views of 'half breeds'. Although, to his surprise, the others hadn't shunned him, the secret brought them closer together; they supported him and sneaked in chocolate to the Hospital wing when he was recovering, against the wishes of the new Matron Poppy Pomfrey. It was only when James stumbled across a small piece of information in their third year about werewolves not attacking wild animals (as well as helping to speed up the healing process for the sufferer after a transformation), did they get the idea to become animagi, after years of research and plenty of late night trips through the restricted section of the library under the invisibility cloak and whole lot of luck did they succeed in their dream. The first time the boys had joined Remus in his transformations had been the scariest moment of James' life, Remus was terrifying, but the werewolf seemed more restrained around them, he didn't hurt himself as much and was able to roam free around the Forbidden forest under the supervision of his friends, he was all together slightly more human when his friends were around.

The silence elongated for a few minutes and James allowed his mind to wander, then something entered his brain which hadn't seemed significant at the time but now seemed to fit together.

"Why aren't you talking to Hestia? Is it something to do with those rumours about you and Marlene McKinnon?" James asked, directing his question towards Sirius who looked frankly flabbergasted. Remus and Peter seemed more interested in the conversation now and leaned forward in anticipation, everyone had heard the rumours but now they might hear the truth.

"N-n-no." Sirius stammered. "Nothing to do with her, we… err, had an argument that's all."

"And now the truth." Remus interrupted, Sirius turned to his friend and looked at him hopelessly – there was no getting out of this now…

"It was just a fling, nothing really." Sirius replied with a flip of his hand, but the pitch of his voice, which was significantly higher, told them he was obviously lying.

"So you decide to hook up with the frankly super-hot Marlene McKinnon and you don't tell any of us? Are you kidding me, you'd have bragged about it for days!" James teased. "Now, you hooked up with McKinnon? Just tell us why… Padfoot are you blushing?!" James laughed as a faint blush crept up Sirius' cheeks, not meeting his friends teasing glances Sirius felt his cheeks burn, it was true Sirius Black was indeed blushing!

"Fine! We spent a couple of nights together after I broke up with Hestia, alright? Happy now?" Sirius admitted, suddenly taking an interest in the edge of his duvet cover. Peter didn't know who looked more shocked, James or Remus, they were both staring at Sirius performing accurate impressions goldfish – their mouths were mouthing but no words were coming out. "I was trying to get _her_ out my head, okay?" Sirius added, not meeting any of his friend's eyes.

"H-H-Hestia Jones? Lily's best friend Hestia?" James eventually managed to stammer.

"The very same." Sirius replied solemnly. Of course they'd all guessed something was going on, but they never expected a full out confession with barely any interrogation, they hadn't even brought out the tickling hex yet…

"You and Hestia? You were together, like properly together?" Peter squeaked, unsure of what else to say.

"Yes Pete. We were together, as in she was my girlfriend!" Sirius snapped, he quickly regretted it as Peter looked like he'd been slapped. "Sorry… yes we were together, we didn't want to say anything because we thought it would jinx it or something, but that happened anyway I guess…" Sirius trailed off, the others hanging on his every word.

"Go on." Remus urged, Sirius sighed and pushed his hair from his eyes before reluctantly carrying on with his story.

"Well, one night I was round at hers while her parents were away, and we were sort of kissing, um, making out… and I dunno, this thought popped into my head that I shoud tell her tht I really liked her and wanted to be around her all the time, it might not seem much but this is pretty much the first time ive ever felt like this! I don't een know if I properly feel that way… it came out of nowhere!" Sirius defended seeing the even more shocked faces of his friends.

Silence.

"What?!" James spluttered. Sirius' head was down in his chest, and didn't reply, his hair falling across his face obscuring his eyes from view.

James had to actually remind himself to breathe, was this real? Was he dreaming? He pinched his arm, hard. Ouch! He was definitely awake, and Sirius Black had really had proper feeling for a girl, how did he not nice this?! Sirius lived with him for goodness sake! Well, he'd noticed that Sirius had been withdrawn for a bit during July but that was nothing out of the ordinary, Sirius often took off for a few days to be by himself, that was normal.

"Well what happened then?" Remus questioned lightly.

"I freaked out basically. I was so mixed up inside, I didn't know what to do… And all these _feelings_ were all new, so I left hers, she was really confused, and I ignored all her letters and didn't speak to her for the rest of the summer… then I met up Marlene in Diagon alley, she'd just broke up with that Shacklebolt guy, we talked and we ended up having a thing, both of us trying to get over other people… but I can't get Hestia out of my head! Every time I close my eyes, I can just picture those big blue eyes looking up at me so confused, it's so damn infuriating!" Sirius ranted, banging his fist on his bed side cabinet with so much force that the top drawer flew out. The boys ignored it and continued to stare at Sirius, disbelieving.

"So that's why you ignored her on the train, and at the table?" James commented, the pieces finally fitting into place. Sirius nodded glumly.

"Whoa." James mouthed, lying flat out on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. Remus and Peter seemed to be in the same state, not quite knowing what to say, they too lay back on their beds, no-one wanting to break the silence that had once again fallen upon them.

Then Remus had an idea, smiling to himself in the dim light, he marvelled at his own brilliance.

"Kumquat!" he announced loudly.

"Excuse me?!" Sirius retorted, snapping out of his gloomy mood.

"Broke the silence didn't it! Just like when Jessica did on the train." Remus grinned; remembering Jess' face when he'd complimented her on her marvellous plan. Lost in thought Remus didn't notice the look James and Sirius exchanged.

"Moony?" Sirius inquired, forgetting about his sulking, a mischievous grin forming on his features. "You're sweet on Miss Jessica!" he announced triumphantly.

"What?! No… Wha….!" Spluttered Remus.

"You have a crush on JESS!" James announced, raising his voice for effect. Sensing defeat, Remus exhaled slowly.

"Fine, I have a bit of a soft spot for her… Happy?" punching the air James grinned.

"I knew it!" James beamed.

"Congrats mate." Peter called out from his own bed. Looking at his friends Remus broke into a cheesy grin, he hadn't received too much of a ribbing (it seemed Sirius' confession had overshadowed his), his pride was still relatively intact. Even though his friends jumped on him and stole his stash of chocolate frogs, they weren't altogether too bad!

"Well then guys, on that note I think we should hit the sack!" James announced, stretching his hands high above his head and yawning. Laying flat out on his back he pulled the duvet up towards his chin. Sighing Sirius followed suit, then Peter and finally Remus. Dimming the light of the fire with a flick of their wands, the room darkened but still retained a warm glow.

Calling out their goodnights the boys settled down to sleep.

"Night Wormtail, you pathetic little rat!"

"Night Moony, you overgrown rabbit!"

"Night Prongs, you arrogant toe-rag!

"Night Padfoot, you immature first year!"

Laughing at their good night insults, a tradition in the Marauders room, Remus was surprised he hadn't received more of a ribbing than he had, maybe Sirius' confession prior to his had completely stumped his friends and they were unable to process the information, maybe they were just happy for him, whichever it was he was happy, and that was all the werewolf could ask for.

Author's note: Hope you like the reworked version of chapter 6 as usual if you want a copy of the old chapter, let me know – but eh plot hasn't changed, just a few of the small details and the working remember to review!


	7. Morning!

**Authors note: reworked chapter 7! Enjoy **

_**Recap: the boys return to their dormitory after the feast, Sirius jumps on Remus and nearly flattens him. James questions Sirius about the rumours between him and Marlene McKinnon and why he is ignoring Hestia, Sirius admits he and Hestia were in a relationship and he told her he loved her; this freaked him out so he tried to forget her with Marlene McKinnon who had just broken up with Shacklebolt. James wonders how he didn't notice this considering Sirius lives with him. Remus admits he has a crush on Jessica and is relieved that his friends haven't ribbed him too much. **_

Chapter 7 – Morning!

"Lily! Wake up!"

Lily woke with a jolt; Hestia's smirking face shaking her awake was only an inch from her own.

"Good, you're awake, now get up or you'll miss breakfast!" Alice chided from across the room, before entering the bathroom to brush her teeth.

"And you'll miss getting your timetable Lils!" Jessica added, laid out on her bed with her arms crossed lazily behind her head, already dressed in her robes with her discreet make up applied and long blonde tresses pulled up in a neat ponytail.

"I hate you all." Lily muttered, pulling the covers over her head, blocking out the light from the open curtains; it was safe to say Lily was _not_ a morning person. Hestia shrugged her shoulders and sighed, Lily was always in a foul mood in a morning, the first morning of term especially.

"Let me try?" Jessica offered, waking up Lily was one of her favourite past times.

"Go ahead." Hestia replied, pulling her wet hair out of the towel she had it rolled up in, with a flick of her wand, her hair was dry and cascading down her shoulders in its usual torrent of chocolate coloured curls. Hestia settled in front of her mirror to style her hair as Jessica swaggered over to Lily's bed, her loose ponytail swaying as she walked. Jessica chuckled slightly as she took a firm grip on the edge of Lily's duvet. She paused to brace herself and with a quick flick of her wrist, she pulled the duvet clean off the bed leaving Lily laid in the middle of the bed curled in a ball looking positively murderous.

Alice, who had come out the bathroom to watch the spectacle, was holding Jessica for support, overtaken by a fit of uncontrollable laughter, even Hestia giggled as she applied a shade of dark pink lipstick in the mirror beside her bed.

Unwillingly, Lily climbed out of bed and regretted not sleeping in socks as a cold shiver shot up her spine as her bare feet connected with the freezing polished wood floor.

Alice ushered Lily into the bathroom to shower, poking her head round the door every minute or so to make sure Lily hadn't fallen asleep stood up in the shower as had been known to happen before, and on several occasions.

A few minutes later Lily was clean, dressed and her hair pulled up into a loose bun and a small amount of makeup that had been applied by Hestia made her look more awake than she actually was. Finally the four of them were ready to go down to breakfast, and with plenty of time to spare too.

"I guess they had to clean up the confetti though; health hazard and all that." Frank Longbottom concluded, Remus nodded in agreement. The topic of conversation at the breakfast table had been the Marauders spectacle at last night's feast, as the boys themselves had expected. Frank, a moderately tall and slightly muscular built fellow seventh year Gryffindor smiled, his brown eyes a glow. Frank, a model student, had been Lily's other choice for Head Boy, despite not being a Prefect he had often accompanied her on rounds when Remus was absent, although he didn't know the reason behind his friends absence, he was happy to help out and not ask any questions. Frank was what Professor McGonagall affectionately nicknamed 'the extra Prefect'. Despite Sirius' preconception that Frank was one of those stuck up Pureblood wizards who learned to ballroom dance and speak a foreign language by the time they were six, he was pleasantly surprised that Frank was not any of these, (although he was absolutely terrified of his mother like most Pureblood boys, anyone would be of his!) he didn't conform to any of the stereotypical norms of a good Pureblood boy. He didn't care for ballroom dancing, he didn't care for his blood status and he didn't care for any of those stuffy balls that the Purebloods put on just to prove how rich they were, Sirius loved him for it! If only he'd actually been able to hack it in the Marauders dormitory, he could have most been a fifth Marauder…

"I know, I'm gutted!" Peter added, spooning a mouth full of cereal into his mouth.

"I think they should have at least left our banner up there!" Sirius interrupted "Do you know how long it took _us_ to figure out how to write on thin air? Ages!"

"It took _me_ ages Padfoot, you didn't help." Remus teased, buttering a slice of toast.

"Ha blood ha. You are hil-arious Moony." Sirius countered, James scoffed and made to add to Sirius' teasing but was interrupted by Remus.

"Look sharp Prongs. Here come the girls!" he was of course right, as James looked up, four girls entered the hall, Hestia, Alice and Jessica seemed in good spirits, Lily looked like she was about to murder someone, that look was normally reserved for him. Pulling up seats next to the Marauders and Frank, Lily still had a murderous glint in her eye.

"What's up with you poor Lily-pad?" Sirius teased, tickling Lily under her pale chin, she was regretting taking the seat in between Sirius and James when it was offered to her.

"I wouldn't do that if you want to keep your head." Alice cautioned, from the seat across from them, next to Frank. As Alice buttered a slice of toast, Frank watched her from the corner of his eye, was it coincidence that she'd sat next to him? It was the closest seat to Great Hall doors, was it just because it was the most convenient seat? He couldn't quite figure her out… sometimes she seemed to really like him, but then she'd go all shy again and he couldn't tell. Alice Prewitt was confusing!

"Lily's not exactly what you'd call a morning person." Jessica chuckled. Remus concluded that her laugh was possibly one of the cutest things he'd heard, as he stole a piece of sausage that Jessica had just cut in half.

"Hey!" Jessica squealed as she noticed her breakfast disappearing from her plate. Remus flashed her a guilty grin, which Jessica couldn't help but return. James smiled, hopefully Jessica and Remus would get together, and hell Remus needed something to cheer him up! With his the stresses NEWT exams, Prefect duties and his werewolf transformations, it was easy to see why Remus was often down beat.

"If someone hadn't screamed in my ear, I'd probably have been okay, wouldn't I _Hestia?_" Lily shot a warning look at her best friend, who was sat two seats up from her, the other side of Peter and James.

"I know exactly how you feel Lily." Remus replied. "Don't I Sirius?" Sirius smirked.

"Give her a few minutes and she'll love me again." Hestia said. "Pass the salt Longbottom?" suddenly Sirius seemed to realise that Hestia was present and panicked, filling his mouth with porridge, he gave himself a reason to not talk to her and by keeping his head down, he was able to avoid her gaze. He knew she wasn't feeling as awkward as him, in fact he was sure that sat three seats down she'd be able to feel the awkwardness that was just oozing from him. From the other side of Lily, who seemed remarkably perkier as time passed, James had realised what Sirius was doing, what his game was, he was attempting to ignore Hestia…again. James sighed, he didn't have time for Sirius and his tantrums this morning, and instead focused on the pretty girl sat on right. He tried to focus on her green eyes that now had more of their usual glitter, the smile that formed across her face as she talked with Remus, the delicate way her hands cut up her breakfast and the way her leg was touching his. She seemed to notice the bodily contact at about the same time as James did; she didn't, as James expected, scream at him (and probably hex him), she turned to him and smiled, the contact between them still very much there. James must have looked incredibly confused as Lily giggled, suddenly breaking out into a grin, he too began to laugh, Remus and Jessica exchanged glances, neither of them quite knowing what was so funny, but no-one else seemed to have noticed. Eventually everyone regained their composure and returned to their breakfast, James and Lily sneaking glances at each other, James feeling euphoria spreading through his body because of her smile, and Lily wondering why on earth she was doing this, the only explanation the growing feeling of butterflies that was whirling in in her stomach.

James allowed his mind to wander, not caring if anyone had seen their secret smiles to each other. _'Slowly does it Potter, you'll win her over eventually.'_

A while later, Professor McGonagall, strode up and down the Gryffindor table, as did the other Heads of houses, handing out timetables to the students, Lily and James helping out when needed.

Professor McGonagall strode over to the Head students and thanked them for their help; she turned to leave but then backtracked on herself.

"Oh Miss Evans and Mr. Potter," she reminded, "You are to chair the first prefect meeting of the year tonight, usual place, and good luck!" and with that she left the hall. James, who up until this point had seemed unnervingly happy about the Head Boy badge, looked like he might be sick, his mind still spinning from Lily Evans' leg touching his. However, before anyone could comment on his pasty expression, a chime sounded out throughout the hall, the bell sounded the end of breakfast and five minutes until first lesson.

For Lily, James, Hestia, Jessica and Sirius the first lesson was Potions, Alice, Peter and Frank headed off to care of Magical Creatures and Remus reluctantly headed off to Ancient Runes on his own.

The walk down to the dungeons took nearly the full five minutes gap between breakfast and first lesson, the small group of Gryffindor seventh years, accompanied by a few others from the other houses descended the steps, a cold wind blowing through the exposed brickwork. Lily had heard that the Slytherin common room was down here, she wouldn't be surprised if it was, don't get her wrong – some of the Slytherin students she knew were lovely people, others however seemed to be exactly the kind of people who would hand around in dungeons. The small group entered the dungeons and settled on the benches around the room; Lily was just about to enter when James Potter cut in front of her.

"Can I help you Potter?" Lily asked. Now she was cornered, and James Potter was abnormally close to her, she hoped he couldn't hear the hammering of her heart nearly beating out of her chest, or the butterflies that happened to bring their power dill this morning and were hammering away inside her stomach.

"Um... it's just…" he nervously dragged a hand through his unruly hair and Lily felt an urge to ruffle it, but she restrained herself. "It's just I have no clue what I'm doing with all this Head Boy stuff, would you be able… to, erm, explain it, go through it with me before the meeting tonight. It's just I don't want to make you look stupid because I don't have a clue what going on…" James trailed off, mildly embarrassed. Lily found his embarrassment endearing and smiled, which he took as encouragement.

"Of course I will James."

"Really?" James grinned, nodding Lily felt her lips curve into another smile, James was actually really excited at the prospect of being Head Boy – it was actually rather sweet. Lily didn't allow her mind to wander any further, she was NOT falling for James Potter and that was that, end of. Taking advantage of the momentary lapse in conversation, Lily took her leave and entered the classroom before her brain could wander any more about James Potter.

James watched her leave, then something dawned on him and he rushed after her. Skipping up the desk she shared with Hestia and Jessica, James leant in close.

"You called me James." She jumped slightly at the sound of his voice but she calmed once she recognised his tone.

"So?" she retorted, not turning to meet his eye.

"You always call me Potter; I don't think you've ever called me James before." Lily's eyes widened when she realised what she'd done, despite her heart still hammering in her chest, she frowned slightly, not quite realising how she could have made such a disastrous misjudgement as to use his first name. "Don't worry Evans, I won't tell anyone." He added, his lips brushing the sensitive skin just behind her ear. She shivered, he noticed. With a smirk at Sirius, he dropped into the seat beside his best friend, who was beaming at Lily.

"Way to go Prongs!" Sirius clapped James on the back as James dropped his bag beside his chair.

Feeling heat rise in her cheeks, Lily knew she was blushing. She pulled her parchment, quill and a pot of ink from her bag to avoid the looks Sirius and James were giving her, luckily Jessica and Hestia hadn't realised, still in deep conversation over which Celestia Warbeck song was the best and whether Wizard Rock was better than Muggle Pop.

From the other side of the dungeon, Severus Snape watched intently, jealousy rising inside his chest; he was like a volcano in danger of exploding. Lily was meant to be _his_ friend, despite the fact she had refused to speak to him in over a year – she was meant to be _his_ friend, not Potter's. They'd always hated him, why was she talking to him? And _why_ was she falling for him? It was quite obvious to someone who knew Lily well enough that she was indeed falling for James Potter, Snape wanted to deny the fact, scream and shout about it, but the evidence was right in front of his eyes, it was undeniable. He'd seen the secret smiles at breakfast when they thought no-one could see, he'd seen Potter corner her at the beginning of the lesson, the glances when they were handing out the timetables and the way she'd shivered at his slight touch. He'd even heard her call him by his first name, she was falling for him and Severus Snape was powerless to stop it. But before Severus Snape could stand up and scream at Lily for the massive mistake she was making for falling for that slimy, arrogant git Potter, the Potions Master, Professor Slughorn, entered the room, smiling at Lily, his favourite student and then turned to address the whole class.

Professor Slughorn, the Potions Master, entered the room. Smiling at Lily, by far his favourite student, he then turned to greet the whole class.

"Morning dears!" he chimed, far too cheerful for 9AM on the first day of a new term. "Now, turn to page 238 in your textbooks to see what we shall be brewing today!" flicking through their textbooks, the class looked bemusedly at the potion that they were expected to brew.

"Felix felicis?" Hestia squeaked.

"Yes Miss Jones, but I don't expect anyone to be able to make a successful brewing of it this lesson, incredibly tricky little potion indeed! Disastrous if it not done properly! Plus it takes six months to brew, so it won't be finished until nearly the end of the year, but I still expect you to be able to brew a good draft of it by the end of the term, so I want you to practice! So without further ado, I shall pair you up, we'll be working be working in pairs this lesson, trying to perfect one potion between us. So…" the Professor's eyes scanned the class Lily hoped that he wouldn't pair her with Severus, however the class was barely 12 students in size so there was a high probability that they could be paired together. The Potions Master didn't seem to understand the magnitude of the argument between herself and Snape and believed it could be remedied by a spot of Potion making – the subject at which they both excelled.

"Jessica Silvers, your work needs a boost – you can work with… Severus Snape." Lily sighed a sigh of relief, James noticed and smirked. Jessica pulled a face, Snape didn't look overly impressed either, however they both rose and walked over to the bench in the furthest corner.

"James Potter you can work with Hestia Jones." Looking much more pleased with their partnership they both smiled and set to work on the lesson's assignment. The professor paired up the whole class until there were just two students left "And finally Black, you can work with Evans." Lily knew her pairing could have been worse, Sirius was the best Marauder at Potions, so hopefully this lesson wouldn't be too bad, but then again this was Sirius Black, he was nothing if unexpected.

"Come on Lily flower." Sirius teased, offering his hand out towards her. Here goes nothing, she thought as she allowed Sirius to lead her over to a work bench and begin their potion.

"BLACK!" Lily roared her face almost as bright as her hair. Sirius smirked, his plan had worked; Lily was covered head to toe in her half brewed Felix Felicis with fireworks dancing around and forming the words 'Pow' and 'Boom' in sparkling letters above her head. Turning round to see what all the commotion was about Professor Slughorn let out a chuckle.

"Well, I say!" narrowing her eyes at Sirius, Lily looked ready to commit murder, Sirius however was at this point was doubling over in fits of hysterical laughter.

"What the hell did you do?!" Lily demanded, gesturing to her cauldron which now had a huge gaping hole in the side from which a thick golden potion dripped onto the stone floor of the potions classroom. Finally regaining some composure Sirius pushed his long black hair out of his face allowing Lily to see the startling grey eyes, the same ones which made all the other girls swoon.

"Dr Filibusters fabulous wet-start, no heat fireworks." he replied pokerfaced. "Left over from a prank last year." Lily looked like she might explode, to which Sirius burst out into fresh bouts of raucous laughter.

"Arrrgggg!" she cried out clutching her red hair resisting the temptation the ring Sirius' neck. The rest of class was silent watching the scene unfold before them across the work bench. Clutching his large belly Horace Slughorn continued to chuckle and only stopped when Lily cast him her best prefect glare, looked like it worked on teachers too... Severus Snape didn't know what to say, he wanted to stride over to Lily and wrap her up in his arms, tell her he'd sort it and hex Black into the next millennium, although he knew better, if he did that Lily would most probably demand to know what on earth he thought he was playing at and then, along with Black, Potter, Jones and Silvers hex him until Slughorn intervened, which Snape doubted he even would, he wasn't renound for his disciplinary skills.

"Come on Lily," Jessica soothed stepping in between Lily and Sirius before Lily could use her famous bat bogey hex on Sirius. "Let's get you cleaned up." Jessica added, gesturing to Lily's robes, which were now covered in her golden potion. Grateful for her friend intervening Lily knew if she'd stood any longer and she would have had brought out her wand and cast a particular nasty jelly legs jinx onto Mr. Sirius Black, he was not her favourite person at that moment.

"Good idea Miss Silvers. Go and get Lily cleaned up, Mr. Black; you can clear up the mess of your potion, which looked like it could have been an incredibly good draught. And be quick about it!" the Potions Master ordered clapping his hands together. Slowly the class began to return to their own potions; James couldn't help but glance back at Lily and Jessica, who was glaring furiously at Sirius from across the room.

"Look my robes are ruined!" Lily hissed to her friend. Smiling Jessica didn't realise how someone so clever could be so slow.

"Honestly Lily, you're a witch for goodness sake! Use magic! Come here, I'll sort you out. Scourgify." And with a point of Jessica's wand Lily's robes were clean. Lily sighed a sigh of relief; she was thinking about how she would have to explain to her parents that she needed a new pair of robes one day into the new term. "Where would you be without me?" Jessica teased. Throwing her arms round her friend's neck, Lily felt her bad mood lift, plus seeing Sirius scrubbing at the floor, made her good mood soar.

"Now, you can help me and James with my potion, is it supposed to be that shade of purple?" Hestia chipped in, popping up behind Jessica. Shaking her head Lily made her way over to the cauldron which James and Hestia were sharing. Looking at the potion, she stirred it twice to the left and one to the right and added in a small amount of a black liquid from one of the many vials scattered around the work bench. James watched as the potion changed from a deep violet to a dazzling shade of gold. Grinning Hestia turned to Lily, and threw her arms round her neck.

"Has anybody told you how amazing you are?" giggling Lily opened her mouth to speak but Sirius jumped in before she could get a word in.

"Well, Prongs has but she won't listen will you Lilykins?" blushing James looked at his potion, trying to avoid Lily's gaze. Rolling her eyes Lily looked straight towards her potions partner.

"You know that floor that you just spent the last five minutes scrubbing?"

"Yes." Sirius answered, looking triumphantly at the now clean space on the floor where Lily's potion had split minutes previously. "All nice, clean and potion free!" he concluded.

"Well you did know you could have just used a Scourgify charm to clean it, don't you?" Lily informed him, now it was her turn to smirk and look triumphant. Looking astonished Sirius looked at the floor, then back at Lily, then back at the floor.

"Oh yeah…" Nodding Lily felt a laugh escape her throat and burst into a fit of giggles.

"Nice one Pads!" James added, slapping his friend over the back of the head with the flat of his hand. Looking embarrassedly at his feet, Sirius avoided eye contact, especially with Hestia, with whom he still hadn't spoken a single word. Before any of the group could comment on Sirius' failure to remember the simple cleaning charm, Professor Slughorn clapped his hands together again.

"Come on boys and girls! Pack up!" and with that, the lesson was over.

**Authors note: new version of chapter 7 – the Potions classroom scene has barely changed, the first part more so **** hope you liked! Remember to review! **


	8. Prefects

**Authors note: reworked chapter 8!**

_**Recap: Lily, who is definitely not a morning person gets woken up by Hestia and Jessica and is most definitely not happy, they make their way down to breakfast where Sirius tries to make jokes but Lily is having none of it in her half-awake state. Sirius tries to ignore Hestia again but James ignores it and concentrates on the way Lily's leg is pressed against his, the pair share a moment together before helping hand out the timetables for the new school year. **_

_**Potions class starts, Jessica is not happy to be paired with Snape, Lily ends up Sirius who makes the cauldron explode and covers Lily in her potion. Everything gets cleaned up and Lily helps Hestia and James finish their potion –**_ now onward with chapter 8!

Chapter 8 – Prefects

"Right." Lily started as she settled down in her usual chair on the right hand side of the prefect table; James took the chair opposite her on the left. She would have to give up her usual chair in the meeting later and take up one of the seats at the top of the table where Head Boy and Girl usually resided, she was thankful to have one last sit in her usual seat. The Prefects room was large, a square oak table stood slightly off centre to the right as the main focal point of the room, matching chairs sat around the table, with two at the far end of the table for Head students and a lone chair at the opposite end. The room was dimly lit by torches and candles hung in alcoves around the perimeter of the room, a fire crackled in the hearth and sent glowing shapes around the room against the mid blue of the wall paper. Portraits hung across the walls, the faces of some of the school's most prestigious students as well as knights and a woman hanging her long hair out of a tower, Lily explained it was from a muggle fairy-tale, James forgot which. A large polished wood cabinet stood next to the window at the far end of the room, the window offered very little light to room as the only view was the back of the astronomy tower. The wooden cabinet enclosed documents needed for the Prefects, point docking and detention slips as well as parchment, quills and ink, anything a Prefect may need for the day. A rota of the patrol schedule hung on the wall next to it, the rota was empty as of now and would be filled in accordingly by Lily and James over the next few days so patrols could officially start the following Monday, however everyone would take up temporary patrols assigned by the Head Students until the rota was completed. On the opposite wall sat a bookcase, filled with books from all subject area's which weren't available in the library, James noted they might come in handy closer to NEWTs.

To the right of the bookcase stood a cream door which lead to the Head students office, inside was another bookshelf which was filled with whichever books the Head Boy and Girl may require, complete two desks with swivel chairs, James liked those very much! Lily and James could use the office for Head student business or for simply as somewhere quiet to study, the choice was up to them.

"Well, our role is pretty simple." Lily explained to James once he had settled in a chair next to her. "We instruct the prefects and help govern the student body. We chair a prefect meeting once a week to instruct the Prefects and go over the prefect rota. Discuss recurring students breaking curfew etc." she added. James was silent for a moment or two, feeling incredibly nervous, up until around ten minutes ago when he entered, he had hadn't even known this room existed. Light streamed in through the large window and the fire in the hearth reassured him somewhat. "Any questions?" Lily asked. A dozen thoughts raced through James' mind, none of them appropriate and would probably earn him a slap, so he pushed them from his brain.

"So, um… what actually happens at the Prefect meetings?" James enquired, genuinely curious, he had always wondered what had happened at the secret meetings that Remus and Lily always trailed off to.

"Well it's the first meeting off the year, so we'll probably just welcome everyone in, go over the news which come son a scroll from Dumbledore – I'll go and collect that later." She added, almost as if she had forgotten and was reminding herself. "Then we'll sort out temporary patrols to make sure people aren't out after curfew. We'll take notes on what nights people can't do for patrols because of Quidditch, tutoring or after school clubs etc and then we'll come up with a proper rota soon, but for this week we'll just assign temporary patrols until the rota is sorted." James nodded and tried to formulate an order for the rapid number of questions that were forming in his head and slow his beating heart that was threatening to beat out of his chest at being this close to Lily for so long.

After nearly half an hour of endless questions from James and answers from Lily, they finally left the prefect room. James feeling enlightened and Lily drained.

Meanwhile, in the Gryffindor common room the Marauders had given up waiting for James to return from wherever he had disappeared off to and had taken up a competitive game of exploding snap, Peter's eyebrows luckily hadn't fully grown back from his last game on the train in – if they had, he would have lost them all over again. Remus was so far the victor, beating Sirius and Peter in straight sets. Jessica was attempting her Transfiguration essay whilst sneaking glances at the boy's game, and towards Remus, who with his tie loosened and robes discarded over the back of the sofa, looked more relaxed than in his normally pristine attire – she thought the look suited him. Alice, trying to distract herself from her upcoming first Prefect meeting and from the boredom which was looming over her, was charming quills to dance along the table top, much to the amusement of the first years who clapped their hands with glee.

A while later, Lily unexpectedly scrambled through the portrait hole, her head still spinning from spending so much time close to James – the nauseous feeling and the erratic heartbeat was something that she could cope with, but the longing to be back in that Prefect room alone with him was something she could not. Had Lily been full aware of her surroundings, she would have noticed Alice gesture frantically to Lily's left and she would have seen Hestia's wild grin from her position flat against the wall beside the portrait hole, anxiously waiting for her best friend's return to enact her plan that had been concocted through sheer boredom and reluctance to start her homework.

"Lily!" Hestia yelled, Lily turned quickly at the sound of her name, only to be knocked to the floor with the thump by Hestia who had thrown herself towards her and was now laid on top of her, cackling madly.

"Ow!" Lily complained, she could feel small egg shaped swelling rapidly forming, and making her head spin for a whole different reason.

"I missed you!" Hestia grinned; Lily rolled her eyes – only Hestia would knock you to the floor and make you bang your head to prove that she missed you. Shoving Hestia off her, Lily sat up and rubbed the back of her head, wincing at the shooting pain that spread through her head as her fingers came into contact with her scalp.

"I saw like an hour ago in Transfiguration." Lily moaned. Hestia pouted as the red head scowled at her; Hestia stood and pulled Lily to her feet. As Lily turned, Peter tried to hide his his laugh behind his hand but was doing a poor job of it; Sirius was studying his cards intently, avoiding eye contact with Hestia who was trying to stop her eyes from flicking towards him and thoroughly failing. Alice was scolding the first years who found the whole ordeal incredibly funny and were falling about with laughter and shooting daggers at Jessica who in her fits of giggles had knocked her bottle of ink from the arm of her chair and caused a blue inky stain to appear on the crisp red carpet. Remus seemed the only one who was remotely sympathetic, gesturing towards the spare seat on the sofa next to him with his eyes, he held his arms open for Lily to fall into, his hand urging for her to come closer. With every step Lily felt the headache that was quickly accumulating steadily worsen, that would surely put her in a _great_ mood for the prefect meeting later. Lily settled on the sofa next to Remus who curled his arm around her waist as she rested her head against his chest, with his free hand that wasn't around Lily, he surveyed his exploding snap cards as the other absently rubbed small circles on Lily's hand with his thumb. With Lily settled in Remus' embrace, anyone who did not know the pair would assume something was going on between them, but this was not the case, Lily and Remus had been friends since their first year, they had now reached a stage when platonic intimacy was just part of their friendship, nevertheless Jessica still felt a pang on jealousy that the red headed witch could be so close to Remus whilst she sat in a single chair across the coffee table, alone. Alice moved from her position across the common room with the first years to settle on the arm of the sofa which Remus and Lily shared, the first years complained as Alice left her post babysitting them; Hestia rolled her eyes and took up Alice's position, knowing they'd annoy everyone within five minutes if she didn't. Alice wondered where Lily had been for the last hour, she'd disappeared off after Transfiguration and hadn't been seen up until now, come to think of it, she hadn't seen James either, for a moment she wondered if Lily and James had been together, but dismissed the thought as it seemed completely unreasonable. Lily seemed to be sulking, Hestia looked up from her position entertaining the first years and flashed her a grin, to which Lily replied by sticking out her tongue and waggling it in her best friend's direction – Hestia tried to look mad but couldn't hold it for more than a second or two before she broke into another grin before returning to the feather she was levitating for the amusement of the first years. Remus chuckled lightly at the exchange before folding his hand and giving up on the game of exploding snap, it was obvious he was going to lose his eyebrows if the game went on any longer. Alice leant across the sofa and stroked Lily's arm.

"My head hurts." Lily whined.

"That's because Hestia launched herself at you." Remus replied curtly, Lily glared up at him to which he ignored and instead smirked at Alice who was struggling to suppress a grin.

"It's not funny!" Lily complained.

"Of course it wasn't dear." Alice replied, attempting to keep a straight face, Remus wasn't so discreet.

"I thought it was pretty funny actually." He shrugged, Sirius snorted in approval as he too folded his hand and let Peter win the game, who promptly punched the air with delight causing Lily to smile slightly.

"Come on; let's have a look at it." Sirius, who had been uncharacteristically quiet due to Hestia being in the room, said. He moved from the across the table to behind the sofa to examine Lily's bump. He moved his fingers gently across the bump and sharply poked it, causing Lily to wince and squeal in protest. "Well, I've come to a conclusion." Sirius said after a few moments.

"Yes?" Lily asked.

"You bumped your head, and now we're going to have to chop it off." Sirius replied with a smirk. Lily scoffed and laid her head back down on Remus' shoulder; Sirius' attempt to cheer her up was not working. Plus, the pounding in her head was steadily worsening, if only she could remember the incantation that Madame Pomfrey had used to cure Jessica of her headache last year, she could rid herself of the throbbing pain, but unfortunately she couldn't.

"Let me have a look." Remus added, Lily was reluctant to do so, she didn't need another poking – after all she had a Prefect meeting to run, if her headache got any worse she'd have to go see the matron, something which she wasn't really that keen to do. Remus placed his wand lightly on the bump on Lily's head and with a muttered incantation the bump receded and the pain virtually disappeared, Lily sighed with relief.

"Thank you!" she breathed. "Did I ever tell you how much I love you?" Lily added, settling back in Remus' arms.

"I don't think so…" Remus trailed off with a smirk.

"Well, I need to do it more often." Lily replied, a small tinkle of a laugh escaping from her throat. Alice's eye caught the time on the clock and panic rose in her chest, not long now until the Prefect meeting! Lily followed Alice's eye line and realising the time rose from the chair, said her goodbye's and made off to collect the scroll of news for the later meeting; it wouldn't do to be late for her first Prefect meeting as Head Girl now would it?

James had considered going back to the common room with Lily after their conversation in the Prefect room, but he had thought better of it, he had said his goodbyes, and then taken a slow walk down to the Quidditch pitch, retrieved his broom from the shed and headed out for a solo fly around his beloved pitch. This was the one place where nothing seemed to bother him, as he entered the changing rooms and shrugged off his robes, he left all his thoughts and troubles at the door, the only thing that mattered in here was Quidditch.

Mounting his broom and kicking off from the ground, James began to fly laps, quickly increasing his speed, zooming round the pitch, the wind whistling in his ears James felt alive. After a while he pulled his broom up, he stopped and surveyed the pitch. Hopefully by the end of the year he'd be stood down there, holding the Quidditch cup for the sixth year in a row. Gryffindor had won the house cup every year since James had joined the team in his second year, not just because of his considerable talent as a chaser, but because the previous captain, Gideon Prewett, had been one of the best captains the team had ever had. Gideon had taught James all he needed to know about being the best Quidditch player and captain he could be, so when Gideon left and James became captain at the beginning of his fifth year, he was well prepared to lead his team to victory and carry on their winning streak. Professor McGonagall had handed James the captain badge on the first day of his fifth year, apparently when she had asked Gideon who he believed should take the badge after him, James had been the only name he had put forward. For James, receiving the badge had been arguably the proudest moment of his life, getting his Head Boy badge had been possibly the most confusing; he'd near enough broken down in tears in McGonagall's office from pure elation when he found out he'd be the new Gryffindor Quidditch Captain. James was incredibly proud of his badge, the weeks following his appointment, not so much so – overcome by the power he had received and the recognition it brought, his ego had swelled as people clapped him on the back and told him what a marvellous player he was. James was convinced that once Lily saw the badge that she'd fall at his feet and she'd be his by the end of the week, in reality she hadn't noticed until two weeks later when James thrust the badge in her face. She wasn't impressed, nor did she appreciate nearly having her eye taken out by the badge. After that she had noticed James' inflating ego and many an argument had ensued. James cringed at the memory, it had taken an incredibly tense argument in the common room one night and a good old fashioned bat bogey hex from Lily before James' ego began to deflate. Eventually his head had returned to normal size and instead of bragging, James set about building his team, Sirius joined as beater as well as a few other new players to fill the ranks, Jessica became his vice-captain and helped keep him in line, Lily reluctantly began to accept him as their two groups of friends began to merge. Of course all his hard work was undone after their OWL exams by the incident by the lake that James would give anything to undo. Over that summer, Lily had eventually come round to the idea of not being friends with Severus, and after their tearful conversation just after the incident by the lake, the pair had embraced their blossoming friendship, a friendship that they continued to this day. James knew Lily and he were getting closer by the day and he saw the sparkle in her eye whenever he was around, the way she would apparently unknowingly bump into him or the way she smiled at him when she thought no-one could see, but refused to acknowledge these as signs of encouragement, he couldn't stand to be rejected yet again, and for now being Lily's friend would have to be enough.

James flew a few more laps and considered fetching a quaffle to practice his shooting at the goals. He checked his watch, it read half past six. The Prefect meeting started at seven, his head told him he could stay out here for another fifteen minutes and then rush sweatily inside, but his heart told him he could go in now, grab a quick shower in the changing room showers and then head inside, still early for the meeting.

Heart winning over his head, James took one quick longing glance over the pitch and then flew towards the changing rooms.

Pushing open the heavy wooden door to the prefect room, Lily was shocked to find James already sat at the head of the table, polishing his head boy badge. Watching him for a moment, Lily smiled. Sensing her presence James looked up, grinning he laid the badge on the table.

"You're early." Lily remarked. Checking the clock on the wall, she studied that there was still another ten minutes until the meeting was due to start.

"I've already been here five minutes…" James admitted "I didn't want to be late." Laughing, Lily strode over to the seat next to James and sat down. Pulling the news scroll out of her pocket, she placed it delicately down on the table.

"You mind if I have a look?" James asked, gesturing to the scroll, "I just want to be informed."

"Knock yourself out." Lily smiled. Beaming back, she threw her satchel under the table and settled in her chair. James took the scroll and began to read. Watching him, Lily realised how attractive James actually was, his skin was lightly tanned and a dozen or so freckles scattered themselves across the bridge of his nose. His cheeks were slightly pink and his brow furrowed slightly as he read, his tongue stuck out slightly from between his lips. Lily had dreamed about those lips last night, what they could do to her, the thought of her dream caused her to blush slightly as she remembered how those lips had travelled over her body. She banished the thoughts and instead studied his eyes, they were hazel in colour, flecked with green and gold, his eyes were beautiful Lily concluded, she hadn't noticed before as they were always hidden behind his square framed glasses, but up close they seemed to shimmer. He smelled like soap and vaguely of freshly cut grass, dressed simply in his black school trousers and crisp white shirt he'd discarded his tie and robes over the back of chair. The short sleeves of his shirt exposed the toned muscles on his forearm and the slightly muscular biceps which were normally hidden under his robes. The top of his shirt was left open, the first few buttons undone; Lily noticed his collarbones were exposed as well as his neck and more of his tanned flesh than she'd ever seen. Tearing her eyes away from James' chest she noticed his black hair was slightly wet, he'd obviously showered before coming, however the dampness of his hair still couldn't subdue its unruly nature which caused it to be stuck up at random angles, Lily had now come to find his hair more endearing than annoying, as she often had before. Lily imagined herself running her fingers through that hair, his lips travelling across her lips and neck, her cheeks flared dark pink and she looked away, suddenly aware that she'd been studying him quite intently and because of the thoughts that had just crossed her mind – but more because she hadn't found the idea repulsive, in fact she found the thought of James leaning towards her and kissing her that very second more and more appealing.

James had tried to concentrate on reading the news scroll, but he was aware of Lily's eyes on him, travelling over his face and arms, before looking away decidedly embarrassed. He'd noticed virtually straight away but had let her continue, Lily could do anything and James wouldn't protest, in his eyes she could do no wrong. He waited her judgement anxiously as he eyes trailed across his figure, settling for longer than expected on his lips, as her eyes lingered, James had to bite he inside of his cheek to stop himself from leaning across and kissing her there and then, sticking out his tongue he tried to concentrate on the news, his brow furrowing in his attempt. It seemed that the new point deduction forms and patrol routes weren't as exciting as he hoped they would be, he had to put all of his focus into the words on the page to actually take in what they said. Reading the news scroll had taken James twice as long as it should have done, but Lily didn't seem to have noticed. He placed the scroll back in front of her and he smiled, she returned his smile, a faint pink blush still swept across her high cheekbones, he wondered what had brought he blush on. Lily had returned James' smile and was almost overcome by the amount that she enjoyed being around him – over the last year he had matured greatly, the cheesy chat up lines were gone, as were the boyish good looks, he had become seriously handsome, and for all she might try and deny it from herself, she'd found herself longing to be around James ever since they'd returned for the new school year. Yes, her and James had become closer over the last year, good friends, but an aching feeling in your chest when they weren't around was surely not normal for someone who you only regarded as a friend was it? The smile the two of them exchanged went on for longer than either of them had expected, that was until Lily looked away, suddenly very interested in the pattern of the grain in the wooden table. Lily inwardly sighed, she had tried to resist it, but the feeling that had started at the end of the last year hadn't gone away, in fact it had doubled, trebled, quadrupled, as much as she hated to admit it, she was falling for James Potter…

Her face must have betrayed the turmoil going on inside of her head because James leant in close to her, his arm casually placed around her shoulders. She jumped slightly at the sudden contact but didn't shrug his arm off, she smiled at him fully and James was overcome by how beautiful she was. Her skin was the colour of porcelain, hundreds of brown freckles specked across her nose and cheek bones, auburn curls cascaded around her shoulders and down her back. In the dim light of the Prefect room, his eyes seemed to sparkle, a shimmering shade of green that he'd never encountered on anyone before, they glittered as she smiled him, her blush deepening slightly as she realised that he was studying her face, trying to take in every one of her features, from her button nose to her soft lips, coated in a layer of strawberry lip balm.

"You alright?" James enquired, simply to break the silence, his breath ticked her face slightly as he spoke, she liked the feeling.

"I'm fine. Sorry I'm being quiet, I'm just a bit nervous." She admitted.

"Don't worry," James replied, his hand dropping to her waist where he squeezed her skin reassuringly. "You'll be great." He added, his hand still pressed against her hip. Lily's eyes settled on James' lips once again, he noticed, but she couldn't tear her eyes away, James leant in slightly and seriously considered kissing her, and he probably would have done, if it hadn't been for the knock at the door.

"Come in." Lily called out, attempting to keep her voice steady. Alice poked her head round the door, followed by Remus.

Staring down at her feet Lily felt embarrassed at how James putting his arm round her had affected her, trying to forget about it, Lily tried not to think of what had just happened.

"We thought we should knock, we didn't want to disturb anything." Alice winked. On the outside Alice seemed confident although Lily saw right through her facade and saw Alice for the scared girl she actually was.

"Of course not! Why would you think that?!" feeling her cheeks burn, Lily shot James a knowing glance, shrugging, he smiled. Alice opened her mouth to reply, probably to remark on Lily's blushing face, but before she could several of the other prefects wandered in. Closing her mouth Alice winked at her friend. "I'll catch you out one day Lily Evans." She hissed, her voice almost a whisper, although it hadn't been quiet enough for Remus not to hear who promptly burst into a fits of giggles, earning him scathing looks from the six Slytherin prefects who had just entered the door. After another few moments, all the prefects were present and the meeting could begin.

**Authors note: **

**Lots of James and Lily moments :D I expanded on them a bit so this chapter went on for longer than I was expecting! Hope you like the reworked chapter 8! Remember to review!**


	9. The Patrol

**Authors note: when I've been reworking these chapters, I've been so looking forward to doing this one; it's one that I really enjoyed writing the first time round! So, onward! Hope you like it!**

_**Recap: James corners Lily before potions class and wonders if she could go over some of the 'Head Boy stuff' before the prefect meeting so he doesn't embarrass her, Lily agrees and they meet in the Prefect room after Transfiguration. James leaves their meeting feeling enlightened and heads down to the Quidditch pitch to fly laps, Lily returns to the common room and is ambushed by Hestia, ending in bump on the head and a massive headache, Sirius teasingly tries to sort it but makes it worse, and Remus steps in to solve the problem. Lily meets James in the Prefect room before the meeting and she realises that she might actually be falling for James Potter… **_

Chapter 9 –

Sirius had been sat in relative silence for some time, Remus was beginning to feel unnerved from behind his Ancient Runes textbook – never had he been able to study in the common room for this prolonged amount of time without a nagging voice whining at him and as Sirius had started doing recently, charming books to hit him over the head until he moved and gave into Sirius who was just _very _bored.

"I wonder…" Sirius said out loud, a few moments later.

"Don't do that Padfoot, you might hurt yourself." Remus interrupted without looking up from the book he'd been reading, half irritated and half relieved he'd been interrupted, Ancient Runes was not exactly the most riveting subject he had taken. Peter chuckled, Sirius sent him a scathing look, Peter ignored him and carried on chuckling to himself as he absently flicked through the comic pages of the Daily Prophet.

"Ha bloody ha." Sirius countered when he received no sympathy from Peter. "I was just wondering, you know that McGonagall's hair is scraped back tight, like _really _tight?"

"Yes?" Peter answered uneasily, unsure of where the conversation was going.

"Well, I wondered if her hair was scraped back tight enough to stop her face from wrinkling, you know? Like it's holding all her skin tight across her face? I bet when she takes her hair out her face is all wrinkly and saggy…" Sirius mused, Remus wasn't even sure that Sirius knew he'd said most of that out loud. Peter rolled his eyes, was this really what the evening had come to? Fair enough it was late, they were up waiting for James return from his first patrol as Head Boy; but really? Remus had come in from his patrol with Alice half an hour ago – he explained that Lily and James would probably be the last ones in, being Head students and all that. When questioned as to what time he thought they'd be back, he had no answer; funnily enough, he'd never discussed patrols thoroughly with the previous Head students. Silence fell momentarily on the three Marauders, Peter had time to reflect that the common room was quiet, a few older students sat around the room in groups talking or doing homework, but on the whole everyone had gone to bed – probably trying to get back into the term time sleep pattern. Sirius didn't like silence, and was seemingly bored with his train of thought surrounding McGonagall's hair style/wrinkle reducer system (Peter didn't even want to know how he had arrived at that thought) and had now decided that Remus should entertain him...

"_Reeemus?"_ Sirius whined.

"What?" the man himself replied, forcing himself to read the textbook was becoming more and more difficult, maybe he'd just give up and try again in the morning, he mused.

"You know your secret stash of chocolate, the one you hide under your bed? Can I have some? Pretty please?" Sirius asked, clasping his hands together and fluttering his eyelashes in his friend's direction. Peter scoffed.

"If you know where it is, why don't you just go get some?" Remus said, his hand idly tapping his knee as his eyes tried to focus on his textbook but to no avail, he was now just using his book as a shield between himself and the whining Marauder.

"Really?!" Sirius excitedly replied.

"No."

"Why not?!"

"Because, you are acting like a five year old child tonight, and if we add concentrated sugar into that mix, it'll be all out chaos. And anyway, have you spoken to Hestia yet?" changing the subject, Remus knew he's struck a chord with his friend.

Sirius looked around the room desperately for something to distract Remus with to avoid the subject, the only thing within reaching distance was Remus' Ancient Runes textbook… grasping the book with both hands, Sirius wrenched the pages open near the centre and held the book up in front of his face, effectively making a shield between himself and Remus' knowing looks, just as the man himself had only a moment ago.

"Sirius." Remus warned. "You need to speak to her; you can't just keep ignoring her!"

"No!" "Sirius blurted out. "I mean, I can't…" Remus shook his head and exchanged exasperated glances with Peter who was watching the exchange with amusement and disbelief. "You're not even reading that book." Remus muttered under his breath, snatching the book from Sirius' hands. Sirius pouted.

"I was reading that." He complained.

"Sirius, it was upside down you couldn't have been reading it." Peter countered.

"My intellect is too much for you to handle."

"You don't even take Ancient Runes." Remus added. Knowing Sirius was not going to back down on the issue of Hestia Jones, Peter took his pack of exploding cards from his bag. Sirius looked on with glee, before taking the pack from his outstretched hand and began to deal.

"So," James said into the silence. The patrol with Lily had been less eventful than he thought it would be, they'd only caught two Ravenclaw students breaking curfew, handed them detention, filled out the relevant paperwork and returned to patrols. James was fairly disappointed, he didn't know what he expected patrols to be, but he didn't think they'd be this boring, especially after the moment Lily and he seemed to share in the Prefect meeting the day before. Plus Lily was unusually quiet, she wasn't a particularly loud girl to start with but tonight she barely spoke a word, James frowned, trying to work out if he'd said something he shouldn't have, whether he'd upset her, he couldn't think of anything he'd said that could have caused her to become so quiet.

Lily's brain had been spinning, after she had confessed how terrible her summer had been to Hestia; the scathing remarks and the hissed insults suddenly felt fresh, as if her sister had just murmured the abuse to her. She'd tried to force the memories from her head but they played like a video reel on repeat, playing on and on and on. It was only when Lily forced herself to concentrate on something else did she notice James' frown. James too seemed lost in his thoughts so hadn't noticed that Lily was watching him, his long strides and the way his glasses slipped and then the way he'd wrinkle his nose to get them back into position again. The flip-flopping feeling surfaced in Lily's stomach again, and she was powerless to try and subdue it, the butterflies with their hammers and drills seemed reluctant to respond to her inner pleadings of discontinuing.

James couldn't think of what he could have said… it was then that he noticed Lily's eyes studying him, he turned her and flashed her a wonky grin. At first she seemed embarrassed at being caught staring, then she smiled.

"So, how was your summer?" he asked, aware of how close Lily was walking to him.

"Okay, I guess." She lied. James thought she looked weighed down, something was playing on her mind, it seemed to have been all night; when she'd flashed him a smile he'd seen a momentary reprieve, but now the smile was long gone and she was back to being crushed under the weight of whatever was trying to break her.

"Now the truth? Come on, you can tell me Lily." He replied teasingly, but there was a serious undertone to his voice. The look in his eyes told Lily that he was serious; he genuinely wanted to know what was wrong, to comfort her. Lily sighed and inhaled a deep breath.

"My sister… she came home with this guy, apparently they've been going out for a while." James nodded, slowing his pace until he came to a halt. Lily bit her lip nervously, she wasn't sure if she should share all this with James, they were becoming closer – that was true – but was she ready to share all this with him? James sensed her anxiousness.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to…" he said into the relative silence of the corridor. Lily shook her head; she felt she needed to tell someone objective, Hestia knew her parents and she knew Petunia, so despite being completely on Lily's side, her mind would often wander to other subjects, like how her parent's jobs were going. The butterflies in her stomach were working overtime, their friends with the dynamite had come along for the party too; despite the slightly nauseous feeling, she knew that James was the right person to tell.

"She said she's getting married to this guy, but he's awful! He's fat and sweaty and he's cruel." Lily continued, James nodding reassuringly as she spoke.

"It's okay; it's good to vent stuff." James said into the lull of conversation as Lily decided on what to say next, she offered him a small smile which he took and returned.

"Well, I mean it is a good thing, Petunia is moving out, so I won't have to see her but… me and Petunia – we've never been close for years, or got on very well, but I sort of hoped when I finished Hogwarts that we'd be able to go back to being sisters again, doesn't look like it." she added bitterly, as much as Petunia annoyed her and insulted her, she missed her, she still longed for the nine year old Petunia who would play with her and hold secret tea parties that no-one except them could come to…

James lead her over to the wall; he leant against it for a second or two before sliding down it until he reached the floor. Legs outstretched in front of him, he patted the ground next to him, Lily willingly gave up standing and sat on the space of floor next to him, his arm held loosely around her waist.

"So why don't you and your sister get on now? Surely she misses you?" James enquired; Lily looked like she might actually laugh.

"You couldn't be further from the truth. Petunia hates me, hates what I am; a witch I mean. We got on well before I got my Hogwarts letter, but after that… well, it was never the same. She got really angry and starting calling me all these names, freak -"

"That's not fair! You didn't ask to be a witch and you certainly didn't do it to spite her!" James cut in. Nodding; Lily looked into her lap, swallowing the lump that was growing in her throat.

"I think she's jealous." Lily added, her eyes still transfixed on her knees. James' hand absently began to rub soothing circles on her hip; she felt reassured and looked back into his face. His eyes were easy to read, they looked concerned but there was a flicker of anger too, mostly aimed at Petunia, how dare she say that to Lily?! "Not that she'd actually admit it though, she just taunts me. Mum and Dad have caught her at it, but it never deters her, she just keeps on doing it. Then she brings home this awful Vernon Dursley, and says they're in love, and they're getting married!" James laid his free hand on Lily's slender forearm that rested on her knees.

"Go on." He urged.

"Well, Mum and Dad are obviously overjoyed and everything, but then Vernon sees me, and he goes all purple and scrunches up his fat face and says Petunia had told him about 'my kind', that I was unnatural and I had no place in his family, once the wedding was over Petunia would have nothing to do with me…" Lily choked; Vernon's scathing comments ringing in her ears. Lily felt the tears swell in her eyes; a few escaped and fell down her porcelain cheeks. Instinctively, James wrapped both his arms around her small frame and held her close. Her head buried in crook of his neck, she felt safe, here Petunia and Vernon's stinging remarks couldn't hurt her, no – here she _was_ safe. Inhaling James' scent, she knew her heart was beating rapidly in her chest but she didn't care, she was here in James' arms and nothing seemed quite as bad as it had before.

"Ssshh." James soothed, his fingers stroking her red curls. He wanted to kiss her, show her nothing would ever hurt her while he was around, but he couldn't. Their friendship meant more to him than that and he didn't want to ruin the small chance that they might become more than that, but the self-restraint he was exercising was killing him inside. He loved her, everything about her, the tinkle of her laugh, the secret smiles she would give him when she thought no-one else was watching, the way her eyes sparkled whenever she was around someone she loved, but also how passionate she was, she would fight tooth and nail for something she believed in, she was strong and fierce. No matter how hard things got, she was always strong, James had only seen her cry one, maybe twice – that was what surprised him most about this moment, Lily wasn't strong, she was fragile and broken, she'd let down her guard and allowed James to see behind the walls, behind the barriers that shut off her emotions and he liked what he saw behind them. He liked that Lily wasn't some unfeeling robot that some people seemed to have become accustomed too, the girl that only cared about work and good grades, she was more than that. She lived in what James assumed must be hell, her own sister shunned her, her so called _best friend_ had insulted her in front a huge proportion of the school body and yet she was as strong as ever. That was what James found most amazing about this moment, Lily didn't let her guard down for many people, he knew not many people had seen her cry, he felt honoured that she trusted him enough to see her in this state.

"I just feel like I don't belong anywhere…" Lily's voice cracked again, James pulled her into his lap, her head rested against his chest, leaving a mascara and tear mark on his white shirt. Her fingers grasped lightly at the fabric on his arm, her finger tips lightly scraping against the soft skin on his arm, but he tried to ignore the jolts of electricity that spread through his entire body. He pressed his lips to her forehead and kissed her gently as he brushed her hair out of her tear stained face. "I mean in the muggle world everyone thinks I'm a freak, my own sister included, and here in the wizarding world, everyone judges me because of my blood status. I just feel like I don't belong anywhere." More tears rolled down her cheeks, James wiped one of her tears away with his finger, her expression softened slightly at his touch.

"You belong here Lily. No matter what that psychopath thinks, you belong here. You are the brightest witch I know, the loveliest person, the most beautiful girl in the world and you are _not _a freak, stuff what anyone says Lily, you belong here." Lily felt a pink blush creep into her cheeks. She exhaled deeply, still pressed against James' chest. A moment later, she released herself from his grip and clambered to her feet, brushing the dust from her clothes that had accumulated from sitting on the cold corridor floor. James pulled himself to his feet too, feeling slightly awkward at being sat whilst she towered over him.

"Thank you James." Lily said, leaning in and planting a gentle kiss on his cheek. James felt like he might faint, it was an overreaction yes, but he didn't care! Experiencing the familiar flipping feeling in the pit of his stomach, James grinned goofily, he had never been more glad to have received the Head Boy badge.

"Um… We should probably get back to the common room now…" Lily added, feeling slightly embarrassed at the way James was just watching her, grinning.

"Oh… yeah…" James responded. James dusted off his robes, and they began to walk slowly back to the common room, James' arm firmly around Lily. No-one was going to hurt her or make her feel insignificant, not while he was around.

Climbing through the portrait hole into the Gryffidnor common room, Lily felt her cheeks burn with blush; her green eyes still slightly puffy from crying. She was relieved to find, the common room was virtually empty, only the Marauders still up. Walking quickly through the room to the stairs up to her dormitory, she could feel the three boys staring at her, their stares burrowing deep into her skull. Climbing the stairs at a ridiculous pace, she was amazed she didn't fall down them and sprain her ankle.

"Night Lily!" James called up the stairs after her; Lily felt a stupid grin cross her face.

"Night James." She called back, beaming. Entering her dormitory, Lily found all three of her friends fast asleep, she was quite thankful for that, she didn't want to go into her story again and kill the buzzing feeling from being so close to James that was whirring around her brain and making her feel light headed. Changing into her night clothes and she climbed into bed, her heart still racing and her lips tingling from they had come into contact with the soft skin on James Potter's cheek. She fell into the easiest sleep she had since the beginning of the summer, no longer feeling weighed down by the burden of Vernon's insults. She belonged at Hogwarts, it must be true, James had said so.

"Tell me what happened prongs! You survived a patrol with Lily Evans and she didn't look like she wanted to kill you! I want to all the details!" Sirius hissed as soon as Lily was out of ear shot.

"Not much really," James lied, feeling the massive grin return to his face, he knew it was a dead give away. "Well, we talked and stuff." James added, but Remus saw right through him.

"And?" the Prefect asked. Flaking out on the squishy red sofa, James couldn't help but laugh at the look on his friend's faces, they were all leant over him, waiting for his reply.

"She kissed me, that's all."

"W-w-w-what?!" Sirius stammered.

"You heard me!" James retorted "She kissed me! Right here!" he added, gesturing madly to the cheek where just minutes before Lily had planted a kiss.

"Well, I'm happy for you, Prongs, hope it works out." Peter responded after a few moments of shocked silence.

"Thank you Wormtail, now I'm off to bed, night boys!" and with that James strode out of the room, leaving behind a Sirius and Remus who were still staring after him, mouth open.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Reworked chapter 9 **** hope you like it! I changed the section with Lily confiding in James slightly, but the speech is virtually the same with just a few minor changes, remember to review **


	10. Permanent Ink

**Authors note: reworked chapter 10! Hope you like it **

_**Recap: the Marauders, minus James, are sat around in the common room waiting for**_

_**James to return from his first patrol as Head Boy, Remus gets annoyed when Sirius avoids the subject of Hestia, yet again!**_

_**James and Lily have their first patrol as Head Students, James notices that Lily is very quiet and wonders why. Lily opens up to James when he asks her what is wrong, Lily admits to James the verbal abuse that she suffers at the hands of her sister Petunia, and her horrible fiancée Vernon Dursley. She confides that she feels like she doesn't belong anyway, she doesn't know why she is telling James all this, but she feels like she can trust him. She thanks James for all his help and kisses him on the cheek – they return to the common room, where the Marauders can scarcely believe it when James tells them, before heading up to bed. **_

Chapter 10 –

Minerva McGonagall rubbed her forehead exasperately, the two boys had been sat in the far right corner of the room talking in hushed tones for the whole class and they showed no signs of stopping as she concluded the lesson. How either of them passed a single exam, she would never know. The two Marauders were still whispering between the two of them, both oblivious to the scathing glances shot their way by the Professor and several of their peers as their conversation continued. Minerva may at times detest the Marauders, but at least two of them were listening– Remus Lupin was sat two desks in front of the pair and was hurriedly scribbling down notes along with Peter who was sneaking glances at Remus' parchment and then returning to his own. She sighed in desperation at the sight the Sirius and James' parchment; Sirius' was completely blank and James' only bore his name in the scrawled in the top left hand corner, they continued to confer showing glances towards the table of girls sat at the front who were unaware of their importance to the two Marauders.

"But what do you think?" James whispered, his confusion expressed across his features as he wriggled his nose to rearrange his slipping glasses.

"I dunno Prongs. You seem to be pretty close, but then you can _never_ read her…" Sirius' eyes wandered over to the table of girls sat at the front, although his eyes lingered on the brown haired witch as opposed to the red head that James' eyes seemed to be drawn to every few seconds.

"But she kissed me!" James hissed "that's got to mean something!"

"I. Don't. Know. Prongs." Sirius replied through gritted teeth, James' none stop talking was beginning to grate on him. Last night, James had seemed euphoric, ecstatic, on cloud nine as the muggles would say. However, this morning he seemed on edge, he'd been evaluating Lily's actions in greater detail than Sirius believed humanly possible. Sirius was about to add that he didn't really care and that James should just snog her and find out the answer that way when he was unexpectedly interrupted.

"Mr Potter, Mr Black, will you please be quiet!" Minerva McGonagall finally snapped. The two boy's heads shot towards her in unison. Sirius flashed a grin but the other Marauder looked uncomfortable at being caught out, pink flush crept up his neck and towards his cheeks.

Daring to glance around the room, James noticed the whole class seemed to be staring at him, including Lily from her table at the front of the room, Hestia, Jessica and Alice by her side. Lily was shot him a fairly amused smirk, although James could tell her mind was somewhere else.

Attempting to swallow his embarrassment, James found himself staring down at the blank parchment in front of him. Slightly ashamed at not having taken a single note, bar the untidy scribble in the corner that bore his name, he eyed his quill with distain, trying to distract himself from the way Professor McGonagall was staring at him – like she was ready to tear him limb from limb them, regardless of him being Head Boy or Quidditch Captain. Sirius, it seemed, did not share James' guilt at being caught out, on the outside at least. His perfect grin remained in place, and flashed a wink at the Ravenclaw Prefect Samia Rain, who sat across the room, but Sirius' attention was diverted from the Ravenclaw to the eye roll of a Gryffindor girl sat next to Lily, who was exchanging glances with James. Sirius noticed that Hestia had turned her attention back to the front of the classroom, disregarding Sirius and James. The turn of her back stung – but Sirius put her dismissal to the back of his mind, instead focusing on sending the fuming Professor a dazzling grin that would only further her irritation towards the pair of them.

She knew she was the only student in the room that was facing the front, bar James and Sirius, but she didn't care, she didn't want to see the looks Samia was sending Sirius, it made her want to be sick. Pathetic, stupid girl, all she ever does is flirt with people; at the thought Hestia resisted the urge to roll her eyes again. She could feel his eyes on her once again but she refused to turn back to him, he didn't deserve her attention she told herself, she didn't need him; although as she read the notes written across the board in her Professor's neat handwriting for the fourth time, she knew she was just kidding herself.

Lily wasn't sure what made her smirk, but something about the whole scene amused her greatly, James blushing and looking thoroughly apologetic, next to Sirius who didn't seem in the least part fazed. It was only when James' hazel eyes had settled on her face did she forget to breathe. It was only the sharp movement of Hestia in the seat next to her that brought her back to the world of the living and reminded her that's he was staring at James Potter, and her mind had been wandering to places it really should not have been wandering to.

James sent the Transfiguration Professor an apologetic glance and elbowed Sirius deep in the ribs, he looked at his friend and shrugged back at her, there was really nothing he could do about Sirius. Minerva McGonagall tried not to smile – it seemed she'd shamed the James into silence, a feat which she was virtually certain had never happened before, Sirius it seemed was an exception, but James had taken care of that for her, quite attentively too she thought as Sirius, now silent, shot his desk mate daggers, rubbing his ribs.

"Now," she added, returning to the rest of the class and regaining their attention. "Homework." The whole class groaned – the amount of work they'd already received was huge and they were only a few days into the new term, it seemed previous 7th years had not been exaggerating when they said that NEWT year was the hardest they'd ever faced. "We are reviewing our work on animagus next lesson, so I would like a scroll on animagi, the youngest ever recorded, the registration process, the difference between an animagus and a werewolf and how to distinguish and animagus from a regular animal etc." James sighed with relief, that was something he could do, animagus? Easy. "Also, a consolidation essay on today's notes. Those of you who haven't taken adequate notes may struggle with this." She added, a slight smirk forming on her lips as she tossed a look toward Sirius and James who were wearing matching sheepish looks. The class began to pack away their things and the Professor strode purposely from the room, happy she might have actually made the Marauders embarrassed at their behaviour.

"Meow." Sirius called out into the classroom, miming a cat's paw clawing at the air, maybe he wasn't as embarrassed as McGonagall would have liked him to be. The class giggled quietly and continued to pack away their things before leaving the classroom in small groups. "What's got her knickers in a twist?" Sirius asked, stuffing his blank parchment back into his satchel.

"Erm… you?!" Peter replied from the desk two in front of theirs, carefully folding his parchment and storing in his file that he tucked away for reference later. James clipped Sirius over the back of the head with the flat on his hand.

"We're lucky we got off with a warning you idiot. She should have probably given us detention." James replied to Sirius' questioning look.

"And what would Lily think of that?" Remus hissed with a satisfied smirk, heat crept into James' cheeks, but the majority of his blush was hidden by tanned complexion. Sneaking a glance towards the Head Girl, James was surprised to find her scribbling away at her parchment, her hand pressed hard into her quill as she furiously wrote whatever was spilling from her brain.

"Come on Lil, lessons over." Alice reminded the red head with a gentle squeeze on her shoulder. Lily noted how messy her notes had become, as she scribbled the homework down on the edge of her parchment, her handwriting had become increasingly more italic throughout her notes and ink blots were scattered around her page making it look as if a spider had jumped from her ink pot and decided to tap dance around her parchment. She inwardly sighed, damn that James Potter!_ 'If only James hadn't been so distracting, I might have actually been able to take decent notes!'_ she thought _'If I fail, I'm blaming him.'_

Eventually the students spilled from the Transfiguration classroom and into the filled corridor, dispersing into the rest of the student population, mixing with students of all ages and houses. The girls had been quicker to exit the classroom than the boys had been, Remus had wanted to catch Benjy before he left the room, their conversation had held the boys up, but on finally leaving their lesson, James instantly picked out a familiar lock of red hair against the sea of brown and blonde and black that filled the corridor. James took off in that direction, the other Marauders hot on his tail.

Lily halted as she heard her name being called frantically from somewhere behind her, her heart began to race as she saw who was flying down the corridor towards her, his three friends only a step behind him.

"Hey Lily, you coming to the Quidditch on Saturday?" James asked, catching up with her, still slightly breathless. Lily felt the corner of her mouth curve into a smile, unaware of Jessica and Alice grinning between themselves; Lily hadn't said a word but they knew her well enough to guess what was going on in her head as those hazel eyes bore into hers.

Sirius, stood at James' side, took a sharp intake of breath as Hestia took one look at him and looked away, in apparent disgust. Remus and Peter exchanged exasperated glances: how much longer would their dancing round each other go on, this was beginning to grate on everyone and become increasingly tiresome.

"I don't know, I didn't know there was a game." Lily replied, attempting to keep her voice steady despite the unsteadiness that had suddenly come over her. She finally admitted it to herself, there and then. She admitted the butterflies that had been banging, hammering, drilling and setting off nuclear explosions in her stomach since the end of last year, the longing to be close to him, the counting down the hours until their next patrol were definitely the signs of her growing attraction towards Head Boy, she couldn't quite believe it, but it was true, _she had a great big fat crush on James Potter_. James was just about to retort a reply when he was interrupted by his seeker.

"They're holding Quidditch matches this early? It's only the first week back!" Jessica exclaimed, her long hair spilling over her shoulders.

"Yeah, that's crazy! You've not even picked your team yet Potter!" Alice added. James fixed the two of them with amused grins.

"It's just a practice game, Prewitt." James answered, looking at her directly as he addressed her. "And if you'd read the bulletin I put on the notice board this morning Silvers, you'd have noticed I've scheduled Quidditch try outs tomorrow evening and you as Vice-Captain need to be there to help me choose a new Chaser. Then we have a practice match, a friendly I think the muggle's call it, against Hufflepuff on Saturday. It'll be easy; we could beat them with half a team." Jessica blushed at being caught out, but nodded .The rest of the group seemed to agree; it was clear that Hufflepuff were the weakest quidditch team in the school; James had often commented though, it wasn't for lack of skill – it seemed they had many decent players within the ranks of their house, it was just they lacked the aggression to really tackle, as Sirius often put it: they were 'Just too nice!'

"We'll see Mr. Captain, now come on, I'm hungry." Sirius interrupted, as a reply was just about to leave James' lips. Pulling his best friend by the tie Sirius headed down the increasingly quieter corridor towards the Great hall, eager to get away from the looks Remus and Peter were sending him, as well as the awkward tension that was accumulating between himself and Hestia.

"See you later Lily!" James shouted over his shoulder, a genuine smile crossing his features. Despite her company, Lily smiled back and waved, a small giggle escaping her throat as James nearly tripped over a first year in his haste to follow Sirius round the corner. It was only when Lily turned back to the others did she realise what she had just given away.

"You so like him!" Hestia squealed. Once Sirius and James were safely out of ear shot.

"Do not!" Lily retorted with a snort. Remus let out a chuckle, although Lily had been trying to hide it, but her feelings towards James were quite obvious to everyone, except James it seemed.

"It _is_ a bit obvious Lily…" Remus added. She felt the need to argue, to state her point and scream until she was red in the face, but with the look the other Gryffindor students were sending her, she knew she was defeated. Still, she had to give it a go…

"I really don't." she tried to argue, but she knew that her friends would sniff out her lie in seconds.

"Well if you don't like him, why did you blush the colour of beetroot when we asked you if you did." Jessica cut in triumphantly. Lily scolded herself, her pale skin always showed her blush, even if it was only the tiniest amount, she would flush scarlet, it was a dead give away.

"Awww!" Alice cooed, throwing her arms around Lily's neck. "Lily loves James!" she teased. Hestia burst into fits of giggles, Remus and Peter joined in too; Jessica that offered a supportive pat on the shoulder, although she too was struggling to contain a laugh that was fighting to burst out.

"Not that far!" Lily retorted, pushing her friend away from her; pouting, Alice crossed her arms in front of her chest with faux anger. Lily rolled her eyes, the rest of the group continued to laugh at her reaction.

"So you admit it?" Jessica inquired. Lily blushed again, and from the glances her friends shot her, she knew she had backed herself into a metaphorical corner.

"Yes, fine! I like him! Now let's go, before I kill you all…" Lily replied, before anybody else could cut in. Striding in the direction of the Gryffindor common room, Lily was already regretting telling her friends as Hestia chirped in one ear about how she had always known Lily and James were destined to be together, and Jessica and Alice cooing like proud parents, must to Lily's distain. It was quite obvious they were not going to let this subject matter drop.

Skulking in the shadows, Severus Snape had heard the whole conversation. He'd also been privy to James Potter's arrogant grin that morning; something was obviously gone on between him and Lily the night previous or that morning before breakfast, from the grins they were shooting each other and the way he couldn't help but touch her, a squeeze of her shoulder, a brush of her hand, a bump of her shoulder, he'd not been able to stop touching her, and she'd let him.

_James Potter?! The James Potter, she likes him, she's in love with him, I can tell. How could she betray me like this? She always swore she hated him!_ _How could she betray me like that?! Potter, James Potter! After everything he put me through! When she swore she hated him, she lied! _Feeling disgusted with Lily for going against her word, and partly himself for not stepping in to stop her before this happened, Snape took himself back down to the dungeons, trying to ignore the aching in his chest and the stabbing pains in the vicinity of his heart. At least he wouldn't see Lily in the dungeons, he wouldn't see anyone, and he'd be completely alone; he could banish her from his mind. Slipping into an empty classroom, he eyed the potion bubbling away silently in the corner. He'd been down here every spare moment he could, brewing a selection of potions, all for the Dark Lord. Since joining the cause the previous summer, he'd felt a reason to live; it wasn't the muggle baiting, or even the pure blood obsession, it was the Dark Lord himself who intrigued Severus Snape. Sharing a unique craving for eternal life they'd struck up quite a relationship, Voldemort cared for Snape, more than any of his other servants, more than Lucius Malfoy or even the obsessively loyal Bellatrix Black. Lord Voldemort cared for Snape, almost like an apprentice, and Snape would spend hours brewing potions, all in the quest for eternal life for himself and his master. Inhaling the fumes Snape felt his consciousness slip away and his brewing mind took over, engrossed in his potion, thoughts of Lily Evans now far away.

Darkness fell over Hogwarts, as the clock chimed eight. Lily and Remus sat in front of the fire in the common room, the half completed Prefect rota for the following week laid out in front of them across the table. James, who was supposed to be helping, had been banished to his room by Remus to await further instruction after trying to change the Slytherin Prefect's name's to something incredibly inappropriate.

"Done!" Remus announced triumphantly.

"Good! I hate doing these; they make me want to scream!" Lily admitted, there was nothing she disliked more than doing patrol rota's; none of the Prefects wanted to patrol with any other student from another house, especially if that house was Slytherin, so you'd never please everyone; trying to get a balance between the houses was a great skill, luckily one that Remus possessed.

"Can I come down now?" James shouted from what sounded like his room. It was a wonder that his voice travelled that far, from the dormitory, down the stairs and across the common room. Lily concluded he must have been using a Sonorous charm, even James wasn't _that _loud. A few of the younger students turned around to see where the shouting came from, the older students ignored it, it was James Potter's voice, it could be anything, sharing a common room with the Marauders with however many years they'd been at the school had taught them to not question the actions of the four boys, they were the _Marauders_ after all. Before either Lily or Remus could reply, James had appeared at the bottom of the stairs and sauntered over to where the two were sat. James tried to concentrate on the Prefect rota in front of him, now completed in Remus' neat handwriting but the thought of sitting next to Lily Evans who was smiling at him made it nigh on impossible. James had noticed a subtle change in Lily over the past half a day or so, she was flirting openly with him and didn't shrug off his arm when he'd slung it casually over her shoulders after Charms, and she'd allowed him to touch her: his skin against hers. She seemed different but he just couldn't work out what. Looking up Remus, the sandy haired Marauder smirked; James beamed back, a secret understanding passing between them. Looking confusedly from Remus to James and back to Remus, Lily didn't understand. Finding her confusion mildly amusing James chuckled, however with a quick glare on Lily's part, James was silenced, unfortunately Remus seemed to be immune to her bet glare as he continued to chuckle to himself. .

"Is Padfoot awake yet?" Remus asked. Laughing, James shook his head in reply. Sirius had taken himself off to his room earlier, _to think_ he'd explained, to which there were many _"Don't do that Padfoot, you might hurt yourself!" "Well there's a first for everything_!" jokes, Sirius had left the group and presumably fallen asleep in his dormitory, Lily failed to see what was so funny.

"Do you want me to wake him up?" James asked, a mischievous glint in his hazel eyes. Nodding enthusiastically, Remus could barely contain his laughter.

"Honestly, you boys." Lily sighed shaking her head as James jumped off the sofa and ran up the stairs to their dormitory at lightening speed. "Remus?" Lily inquired, once James was out of sight, her tone curious.

"Hmm?" Remus replied, looking slightly worried, Lily was a hard person to read at the best of times, and right now Remus couldn't decipher what was going on behind those emerald eyes, that unsettled him slightly.

"What made you becomes friends with them? I mean, I know we were only eleven year sold but… you were so much more mature…" Looking slightly embarrassed at her question, Lily blushed slightly, Remus smiled, then he broke into loud peals of laughter.

"You don't know the half of it Lil…" he chuckled.

"REMUS JOHN LUPIN!" Came a shout from the stairs. It was the voice of Sirius Black, who a second later appeared at the bottom of the stairs up to the dormitories, dressed him only his school shirt and trousers, his robes discarded.

The whole common room burst into fits of uncontrolled laughter, but Lily couldn't see why from her position away from the entrance to the stairwell. James, who appeared behind his friend, was overcome by a wave of hilarity, so much so he had to clutch on the wall for support to stop himself who falling over under the strain of all his laughter. Storming over to their sofa Sirius looked amused and horrified at the same time, now he was close Lily could see what had caused all the laughter from the other students. Covering Sirius' face in what looked like black permanent marker was an assortment of… illustrations. Across his forehead _I love Remus Lupin_ was scrawled in handwriting similar to the man himself, stars and hearts dotted across his eyelids and through his eyebrows. A rather badly drawn dog covered his right cheek, but it was the left cheek that amused everyone the most. Drawn, fairly accurately, across Sirius' right cheek was a pretty exact drawing of Professor McGonagall, however instead of her usual green robes, she had donned a polka dot bikini… the sight was hilarious and yet visually scarring.

"I am never going to be able to _unsee_ this!" Sirius whined, gesturing to his right cheek. "I'm going to have nightmares!" he exclaimed dramatically, at this point Lily burst into fits of giggles, she knew she shouldn't laugh but the temptation was too great and withholding the laugh was about to make her explode.

The other three girls, who had just entered he portrait hole, looked bemusedly over the common room, virtually every student was dissolved into quivering heaps of laughter and damp eyes, Hestia noticed Frank on the far side of the common room, a textbook and parchment set out in front of him, wipe a tear away from his eye as he continued to laugh. Jessica grabbed her friends by the wrists and dragged them over the where Lily and Remus sat, both laughing so hard that they had become silent snickering bundles. It was only then that they saw what was causing all the laughter. Jessica burst out into uncontrollable laughter, Alice snickered into her hand and politely tried to cover it with her hand, even Hestia managed a smirk.

"Remus. Lupin. How. Dare. You. Use. Permanent. Ink. On. My. Face." Sirius questioned, attempting to keep a straight face, but his inner amusement was betrayed by the corners of his mouth that twitched, itching to form a grin.

"It's permanent?!" Jessica squeaked. .

"Yup. It'll last a week at least." Remus beamed. Suddenly a thought entered Sirius' head and he looked like he might be sick.

"I've got McGonagall for transfiguration tomorrow morning!" he whined, holding his hands in his hands. Instead of making the group feel sorry for him, all he had done was provoke even more laughter. Unbeknown to the group of giggling seventh years, the portrait hole opened and a certain Professor had entered the common room.

"Mr. BLACK!" the Professor shouted. Spinning around quickly to the sound of the shouting. The group found themselves face to face with none other than Professor McGonagall.

**AUTHORS NOTE: thank you for your reviews! Especially to **_**Mione Ravenclaw**_**, your review really made me smile! I had the morning off college so I decided to do a bit more writing! Glad you like it so far! Thank you and remember to review! xxx**

**PS – reworked chapter 10, there weren't too many changed I made with chapter to be honest! Remember to review!**


	11. Dungeons

**Chapter 11 –**

**Authors note: reworking of chapter 11 **** hope you like! **

_**Recap: James and Sirius get told off in Transfiguration class because James is over analysing Lily's every move and deciding whether she likes him or not. After class, James invited Lily to the friendly Quidditch match this weekend and Lily's reluctantly admits she likes James. Later in the common room, James had been banished to his dormitory whilst Lily and Remus complete the Prefect patrol rota, James comes back down snickering, Remus joins in. the giggles come from the fact they have drawn all over Sirius' face in permanent ink – McGonagall comes in and drags Sirius away. **_

"Now, Mr Black, please enlighten me on why there is such a fetching picture of my dear Minerva crossing your cheek?" Professor Dumbledore enquired, a glimmer of amusement flickered in his blue eyes, as much could not be said for the Professor McGonagall who had flushed maroon and hauled Sirius to the Headmaster's office by his ear, ignoring his shouts of protest.

"I have no idea Sir." Sirius answered, adjusting his fringe so that it covered his forehead, if the Headmaster saw Remus' name then he would sure know it was the other Marauders; although Sirius suspected that Dumbledore already knew where the ink had come from, he was just waiting for him to confess and give up his friends, something he did not want to do. "I went to sleep in my dormitory and woke up like this, err, any Gryffindor could have got in." he added.

"Ah, I see. Any Gryffindor?" the Headmaster mused. Leaning back in his chair, he peered at Sirius over to Sirius, peering over the top of his half-moon spectacles, his gaze searching and yet amused. Sirius had never been under such an intense stare as that of his Headmaster, it wasn't an uncomfortable stare, but it felt as though Dumbledore could see right through you, all your thoughts, your successes, your failures, your utmost desires, the answers he wanted to seek, he could see it _all_. It was like being x-rayed by someone's eyes. The Headmaster paused, giving Sirius the opportunity to rat out the culprit, Sirius however, had no intention of snitching on his friends. To avoid the stare of his Headmaster, Sirius' gaze wandered to his knees to the room around him, the Headmaster's office was particularly familiar to him, in fact so was the ear tug from Professor McGonagall; he had become accustomed to both of them over the previous years.

The Headmaster supressed a smile, of course Sirius wouldn't give up the perpetrator of the ink scrawls, especially since he knew which one of his friends had been responsible. The Professor he wasn't born yesterday, he knew it was the other Marauders, if only by the handwriting across Sirius' forehead, which he had tried to cover in a frankly futile attempt at hiding his friend's name. In addition, it didn't help that the scrawls were in the same handwriting and style as the signature of the Head Boy on every document he had signed and submitted to the Headmaster over the past days. The Headmaster allowed his mouth to tug into a smile at the thought of the Head Boy; it seemed he hadn't lost his mischievous streak after all! Joining Sirius in his gazing around the office, Dumbledore admired the portraits adorning the walls; former Headmaster's covered the walls, Phineas Nigellus Black, squirmed in his portrait, embarrassed at his offspring being in the chair opposite the Headmaster, _once again_. Professor Dippet was sleeping in his portrait; soft snores filled the silence of the office, Heliotrope Wilkins was shooting daggers at the snoring Professor from his portrait across the room, as he attempted, vainly, to read the thick book laid across his knees. Trinkets and strange objects covered the shelves, Sirius had been tempted to investigate some of them further at many points during his Hogwarts career but always chickened out at the last minute fearing they'd release magic that was irreversible and leave him with elephant trunk or something of the sort, he wouldn't put it past he Professor to have ornaments like that laying around his office, and growing up in the Black household often left you with a nasty fear of strange objects…

"Well, if we cannot find the culprit, there is no-one to punish." The Professor concluded a moment later. Sirius failed to hide his glee as a beaming grin broke across his face. "Sherbet lemon?" Dumbledore offered, holding the open end of the yellow and green striped packet towards Sirius. Thankfully taking one of the sweets, Sirius pocketed it to eat once out of the office.

"Thank you Professor." Sirius thanked as he made to leave. He had just reached the door when the sound of the Professor's voice stopped him.

"You may want to visit the hospital wing though Sirius, I hear Madame Pomfrey had a lotion that may get rid of that ink." He advised, his blue eyes glittering.

"I'll head there now. Thanks Sir." Sirius called back, already half way down the staircase. Jumping from the second to last step into the empty corridor, his feet landing with a quiet thud. Sirius felt a spring in his step, once against the Marauders had got away with their antics! As his feet carried him towards the infirmary, he honestly hoped the Matron would be able to rid him of the ink across his face, he didn't really fancy a declaration of love for his fellow Marauder being scrawled across his face for the next week, the drawing of his head of house he could cope with if needed be.

"So did they manage to get all the ink off? I thought it was permanent?" Lily laughed, her patrol with James was going well, the conversation was flowing with veiled flirting and Marauder style humour that Lily had to admit, was fairly endearing.

"Took them about an hour but Madame Pomfrey got it all off." James answered, a laugh escaping his throat. "She was scrubbing at his face for so long, when Sirius got back he looked like a beetroot, he was bright red!" James added, Lily giggled – that she would have liked to see! "No idea where Remus got the ink from though, you can't get that kind of stuff from Zonko's…" James mused, Lily shook her head.

"I don't know," Lily admitted "I've never been in." she blushed faintly.

"What?! You've never been to Zonko's?! Jeez Lily you haven't lived!" James teased, nudging her with his elbow, Lily laughed out loud.

"Is that so?" she questioned, lightly shoving him back. She'd never felt the allure of the joke shop in Hogsmeade, she'd never been tempted to go in, evidently the Marauders had.

Laughing together, Lily felt completely at ease around James; even last year during their blossoming friendship, she wouldn't have talked and laughed like this with him, she wouldn't have revealed her secrets to him and she certainly wouldn't have been flirting with him! It was hard to believe, but when she boarded the Hogwarts Express on Monday morning, she'd have done anything to have _anyone _except James as the Head Boy, if only it was to ignore the butterflies that trampolined around her stomach whenever he was close. Tonight though, he butterflies seemed to have taken sleeping pills; her stomach was at ease as she walked along side James, his arm slung loosely around her shoulders, their heads virtually touching, his warm breath tickling her face. As their laughs mingled into one, Lily mused what a strange turn of events the week had become, on Monday morning she had insisted the nauseous feeling she got whenever James was around was anything but a crush, and yet by Wednesday she admitted outright that she fancied the pants off him and tonight, Thursday, she was out on patrol with him, longing to be close to him, doing anything to have him touch her, smile at her, laugh with her.

Lily grinned at James as they descended the narrow steps down into the dungeons, James taking the lead, she followed behind. This continued until they reached the bottom step and they both noticed the sound of quickened footsteps further down the corridor; someone was out after curfew. Peering into the relative darkness of the corridor Lily vaguely made out an outline of a tall, lone male up ahead. James stepped in front of her and held his wand out in front of him. Lily too raised her wand.

"Who's there?" James called out, but the figure didn't respond, James shook his head and sighed lightly. Something about the dungeons put Lily on edge, something about the lower section of the Castle made her skin crawl, maybe it was twenty four hour darkness and lack of natural sunlight or the emptiness that surrounded you as you entered, she wasn't sure, but every time she saw the candles flickering in their alcoves, goosebumps spread across her porcelain skin. The dungeons creeped her out, end of.

"Lumos." She whispered and light permeated from the end of her wand, illuminating the darkened dungeons and revealing the form ahead of them. Stepping further into the light a hooked nose, coal coloured hair that hung lankly around his shoulders and eyes of the same shade came clearly into view. The figure was that of Severus Snape.

"You're breaking curfew Snape." James stated simply, Lily was surprised how stable his voice sounded. As Snape sneered back at him, James held onto every part of his self-control, the anger that boiled in his stomach like toxic acid was not something that could easily be subdued, but he tried with all his might. The longing to hex Snape had not died, every time he saw the greasy hair or the eagle eyes he wanted to hex him, for all the things he'd done to Lily, all the things he'd done to others; whilst they were friends, Lily may have chosen not to see, but Snape was no more of an angel than he. Snape was controlling, he was manipulative and he was cruel. In addition, as much as James hated to admit it, he was an accomplished wizard, in James' mind; Severus Snape was a dangerous individual. But the difference between James and Severus was, he had morals, James Potter knew there was a metaphorical line, overstep that mark and you have gone too far, Severus however, scuffed the line with his toe and made a point of skipping across it.

"Oh dear, it seems I _am_." Severus drawled, idly twirling his wand between his fingers, as if to assert his dominance over James Potter. As her former best friends stood only a few feet from her, Lily felt no emotion stir inside of her. She was however, reminded of the countless days during the summers away from Hogwarts, where they'd played at the park or her back garden, they'd been inseparable; now she regarded him with a look of distain, he'd changed, he'd embraced the dark arts and pushed her further and further away. She kept James between herself and Severus, not so he couldn't see her (which he defiantly could if he looked slightly to James' left) but to distance herself from the shell of her former best friend.

James curled his free hand into a tight fist; he was determined to take the high road, if only to prove to Lily of his changing maturity.

Severus noticed the curl of James' fist, he smirked, he knew James was gripping desperately at his self-control, all he would have to do is bait him and he'd lose his slippery grip, he hadn't changed, James Potter hadn't matured, as much as he tried to prove to Lily that he had, he was just kidding himself. Adrenaline coursed through Severus' veins, energy surged throughout his limbs, he was a servant of Lord Voldemort, a Death eater, full of his own self-importance, he knew he could take on James Potter, take on James Potter and _win._ Eyeing James, who looked remarkably calm considering their track record, he flicked his wand and with a hiss the spell was cast.

"Flippendo."

James pushed Lily aside before the curse hit and he was sent careering backwards into the dungeon wall. The crack of bone made Lily feel physically sick, although the sight of James crumpled in an unmoving heap made her feel worse. Panic spread through every fibre of her being, she wanted to run to him, comfort him, hold him in her arms, she didn't even know whether he was alive. But she was routed to the spot, her feet wouldn't carry her, she was stood frozen to the spot as Severus, smirking triumphantly, raised his wand to strike again, it was only then that Lily found her voice and her Gryffindor courage.

"Petrificus Totalus!" Lily countered before the jinx had even left Snape's lips. As the spell careered towards him, he seemed, for the first time, to notice Lily's presence; during the whole confrontation he'd been so set on James that he hadn't even noticed the red head at his side. The spell hit its target directly in the chest; a coldness overtook his body as he fell backwards, his limbs frozen to his side. He was so stupid, he scolded himself, of course the Head Boy and Girl would patrol together, what a crucial fact to overlook – a fact that stung him more than her spell. As he landed on the cold stone floor, unable to blink, he was forced to watch Lily run to the side of James Potter, whilst he lay alone.

"James, James, say something please!" Lily begged, her fingers tapping his cheeks lightly. James' eyelids fluttered drunkenly open, she released the breath she hadn't known she'd been holding. James forced his eyes to remain open as Lily hooked her arms under his, and pulled him away from the heap on the floor. She laid him flat out on the floor, his head resting in her lap. James focused his eyes on Lily's, her emerald irises looked desperate, searching his face frantically.

He opened his mouth to speak but his mouth felt like sandpaper.

"Oww." He nevertheless groaned. "Git threw me against a wall." He moaned, lolling his head back slightly against her stomach. Lily pushed the raven coloured hair from his forehead which shone with droplets of sweat, but she didn't care.

"Hey, don't speak." She soothed, rubbing her fingers across his cheek, he heeded her advice and relaxed against her; that was when the pain hit. Shooting pains ran up and down his legs, a throbbing agony burned along his shin, his head span and the general ache of his whole body intensified. He fluttered his eyelids open and dared to look down his body at the damage caused, a wave of nausea hit him as right leg, along the shin, bent out at an angle that was definitely not normal, and he was pretty sure an ankle was not supposed to face that way.

Lily noticed James' pain, she felt helpless, he was in so much pain and she could do nothing to stop it – she'd always been awful at healing spells – but as she saw his eyes survey further down his body, she had to withhold a sob, she couldn't dare look, but she had to…

As she, along with James, surveyed the abnormal angles at which James' body had been crushed into, Lily felt anger bubble in her stomach, Severus did this, Severus caused James to feel like this, he had caused her to feel like this. He had done this because he hated James, James hadn't reacted to his taunting's, Severus had acted from his own well of self-loathing jealousy, this had happened because she had chosen James over him.

"It's okay Lil; it's probably just a broken leg, that's all." James attempted a laugh. Despite the stiffness he felt in his joints he found her face with his hand, his fingers caressing the smooth skin of her cheek. "I've had worse." He jested, despite the pain he grinned up at her. She shook her head and exhaled heavily, swallowing the lump that was quickly forming in her throat. For a moment, all was silent, the only noise was their breath mingled into one as their eyes met.

She wasn't sure what came over her, but she leant down into James face and planted a lingering kiss on James' lips. He was momentarily taken aback but quickly regained his composure, covering Lily's lips with his, and parting under her own, his tongue slipping inside of her mouth. It was gentle and conservative, and James had to restrain every fibre of his being that was telling his to pull her on top of him and kiss her as if his life depended on it. She was tentative, her teeth clashing with his, James was confident, as he wound his hand through her hair, cradling the base of her neck, keeping her close and deepening the kiss.

The kiss was somewhat awkward with their upside down positioning and mingled with the saltiness of sweat and tears, but James could only describe the moment as perfect. She pulled away slightly, but James kept her close with the hand on the base of her neck, she didn't protest.

"I thought you were dead…" she choked, a small laugh escaping to cover a sob, but no tears fell from her emerald irises.

"You think you'd get rid of me that easily?" he joked, pressing another light kiss to her lips, which she was about to return when the pounding of feet against the stone steps demanded her attention. Her whole body stiffened, if that was another pathetic excuse for a wizard come to hex them, she would not hesitate to retaliate, Head Girl or not, she was not standing for them hurting James, not again. However, she relaxed instantly as the owners of the feet came into view.

"What happened?" Alice squeaked, surveying the scene: a frozen Severus Snape a few paces away from where Lily had James lain in her lap, her legs bent out at anomalous angles and his body already beginning to bruise, in addition to the crumbling brick work that looked as if someone had collided with it at high speed. That was when she noticed the light red dust flecked across James' robes , the flame coloured scuffs on the front of James' shoes… it was James who had been thrown against the wall and by the look that Lily shot her former best friend, he was the perpetrator.

"Alice and I were just heading back to common room when we heard a crash; we headed here as quickly as we could." Remus added, still slightly breathless. Alice's dark blonde hair was dishevelled as she ran her fingers through it uneasily, her pale blue eyes wildly searching the scene, panicked and unsure.

"Severus, James… I-I-I-… It all happened so quickly, I don't really know…" Lily tried to explain, her voice cracked, she subdued the tears, she had to be strong now, no tears. Remus and Alice looked between themselves, unsure of what to do next…

"Err guys?" James interrupted, wincing in pain. The three others looked down at him, something that he found slightly intimidating. "I know you're enjoying just looking between yourselves, but could you go and get Madame Pomfrey, I'm kinda in a bit of pain here." Remus laughed lightly.

"I'll go." Alice offered, turning on her heel and taking the narrow dungeon steps two at a time.

"What are we going to do about him? We can't just leave him here." Remus questioned, gesturing towards Severus. James scoffed, but was silenced by an eyebrow raise from Lily, her fingers now entwined with his, her thumb rubbing circles across the back of his hand.

"Well, he's not going anywhere, he's frozen still, I hexed him…" she replied in a small voice but the corners of her mouth threatened to tug into a smile.

"It was a bloody good one too!" James interrupted, Remus and Lily grinned back at him.

"Sssh you." She chided, brushing her hands through James' hair. He watched her every move, the crinkle of the skin beside her eyes when she smiled back at him, the wiggle of her nose as she tried to decide what to do next, the way her body relaxed, when he squeezed her hand.

"Well, what _are _we going to do with him?" Remus asked again.

"Go and get Professor McGonagall, she can deal with him, I'm not wasting any more of my magic on him." Lily replied sharply. Remus nodded, and followed Alice's footsteps up the stairs and towards the Transfiguration corridor.

Lily's words hit Severus like a slap, hard and fast, leaving him reeling. His whole body stung and every soothing word she cooed to James Potter, _James Potter of all people,_ felt like a knife to the heart. He wanted to run away, to scream and to break something, but he couldn't, he was frozen still under the weight of Lily's spell, watching her comfort Potter, soothe him, he wanted to throw up. How could she have done this to him, _James Potter?!_ He had been the bane of her life for five years, he had hexed younger students, he was an arrogant bully, and she had hated him! It seemed not so much now… _She should be comforting me_ he thought selfishly, he didn't care about James, he didn't give a damn; he could have hit that wall twice as hard, spent a week in the infirmary and he wouldn't care, he had no love for James Potter. Every word that came from James' pathetic mouth made him feel more and more nauseous, every word reminded him, Lily had made her choice and she had chosen James. But Severus wouldn't stop caring for her, he couldn't, but every word Lily soothed James Potter with killed him inside. He couldn't even avert his eyes or blink away when she kissed him, her lips covering his, her tongue entering his mouth, his in hers. The empty ache in Snape's chest burned in a dull agony, the physical break of his heart shuddered his entire body.

And in that moment he, Severus Snape, knew he was utterly and completely in love with Lily Evans.

**AN: Hope you like this chapter! Sorry if you don't like my portrayal of Snape in this chapter but this is how I imagine him whilst he was still at Hogwarts, Jealous and vindictive. He'll get nicer though, I promise! Please review, tell me what you think! This chapter was quite hard to write, I hated making Snape out to be the bad guy, but this is just how when I think of him as a teenager I see him! Xxxx Remember to review! **

**PS this chapter has changed a little bit, but I am so happy with it :D wooo!**


	12. Hospital Wing

Chapter 12 –

_Recap: Sirius is carted up to Dumbledore's office where he fails top give up the culprit of the permanent ink fiasco. Dumbledore decided as Sirius doesn't know, there is no-one to punish and Sirius skips off to the hospital wing to rid himself of the ink. _

_Lily and James, whilst on patrol, laugh about this. Once they reach the dungeon, Severus Snape appears from the shadows and hexes James, throwing James against the wall, Lily stuns him and runs to James, who is badly hurt. Remus and Alice appear from their patrol and run to get McGonagall and Madame Pomfrey. Severus Snape admits that he is completely in love with Lily as he watched her attend to him. Lily kisses James and despite the pain, James thinks it is perfect. Sirius is incredibly upset that he can't go and see James and is comforted by Hestia, the awkwardness seems to have lifted somewhat. Lily returns, is embraced by Sirius, and retires to bed early, where she is comforted by Hestia and she admits she thought she had lost James before he'd got chance to tell him how she felt. _

He wasn't sure when the last time he'd been in this room, if he ever had; it was unusual with its portraits wallpapered across the walls and odd trinkets adorning the shelves, a strange plate like object glittering in a locked cabinet. A bird of golden feathers, sat on the perch opposite him, he didn't often describe things as beautiful, but this bird was quite possibly one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen, with feathers the cold of gold, burnished copper and startling red, it was truly beautiful. The bird watched the man sat the other side of the desk to Severus, then its eyes flicked him back to him. The other man sat across him was speaking but Severus didn't hear a word. Whatever the man was saying was useless, it was unimportant; his only thought the potion bubbling away locked in a cupboard in the spare classroom in the dungeons.

Professor Dumbledore knew Severus Snape was not listening to a single word he said, it was evident from the glassy eyed gaze he surveyed Fawkes with, vacant but concentrated, something was occupying his mind and it certainly was not the lecture his Headmaster was supposed to be giving him.

"Yes, Hippogriffs are apparently very good pets, I'm thinking of replacing all the teachers in the school with them, dragons maybe? Might even get a centaur in too." The Professor digressed; no element of recognition played across Snape's face. If the Professor needed further proof of Snape's wandering mind, the student nodded simply, his eyes still focused on Fawkes, whose gaze was flicking between his master and the unknown student in front of them. The pause in the Headmaster's dulcet tones seemed to bring Severus' attention back to him.

"Is there something you'd like to tell me Severus?" the Professor asked seriously, reminded of Professor McGonagall's stern expression as she had hauled the Slytherin up to the Headmaster's office and sombre expression as she explained the condition she had found the Head Girl and Boy in down in the dungeons and relayed the story that Lily had tearfully explained to her only minutes previous. Snape smirked, the rest of his face thoroughly bored, he honestly had better things to do than talk about the bloody git that is James Potter; but in truth he wanted to avoid the aching in his chest that intensified every time he thought of that git. James had won and Severus had lost, Lily had chosen James and she'd shunned him. Yes, he had hexed James Potter; he deserved it, nothing more to be said.

"No Professor." Snape replied somewhat sarcastically.

Inwardly, the Professor sighed; he could see exactly what was going on inside Snape's head, the jealousy, the vindictiveness, the hatred; it was evident in the harsh coal eyes. Dumbledore also knew the Slytherin student was lying, once James had been transported to the Hospital Wing, the Prefects and Head Girl had been summoned to relay their stories to him so he had a first-hand account of the incident, Snape had denied it all _'He hexed me first, I thought he was going to kill me.' _He'd drawled; something which Lily had especially refuted.

Gazing over his half-moon spectacles, which were settled along the end of his nose, Professor Dumbledore surveyed Severus Snape. Uncomfortably, Snape fidgeted in his chair, the gaze of the Headmaster went straight through him, but Severus kept eye contact until he couldn't hold it any longer.

"Very well." Professor Dumbledore nodded bitterly. "I will have to punish you, one month of detentions; I'll arrange them with Professor McGonagall.

Scraping his chair back, Severus was thankful the whole lecture was over, he wanted to return to the Slytherin common room, take a seat in the corner and brood, brood over the events of tonight and what the future will bring. Tomorrow morning when word gets out, he'll probably get a clap on the back from Avery, a nod of agreement from Mulciber, a smirk from Wilkes, recognition from his superiors.

"Severus," the Headmaster called after him as he had just reached the staircase. Reluctantly, he turned back to face the headmaster. He tapped his foot impatiently. _Hurry up old man! _ He willed. The Professor raised an eyebrow as if he had heard Severus' insult but his face quickly returned to neutral. "If you ever want to get out, leave, if you ever need help, I will always be here." He added simply.

Severus rolled his eyes and didn't bother to reply, the words of the Professor going straight over his head as he strode from the office and stalked down the corridors and towards the Slytherin common room.

"Git! That complete git!" Sirius ranted. "Why in Merlin's name would he do that to James? We haven't said a word to him since we got back!" pacing back and forth across the same section of the common room in front of the fire, no-one could answer him, the group were all silent. Running his hands uneasily through his hair, Sirius continued to pace, Remus had begged him to sit down but he'd refused, and continued to pace, since then no-one had questioned his actions. Remus didn't know what to say, he had seen James lain out across the floor of the dungeons, his body twisted into angles that it definitely shouldn't have been. The way Lily had looked at him, the way the sobs had surfaced in her throat as she kissed him, his best friend, under any other circumstances he would have punched the air and hollered that James and Lily had finally kissed but now was not the time, he hadn't even told the others about it…

Remus, by far the most perceptive Marauder, noticed things others didn't, he'd seen the way James relaxed into Lily's embrace, the twinkle in her eye as he grinned up at her, but then he'd also seen the longing glances from Snape across the Charms classroom, the Great hall and in the corridors, he knew Severus Snape was jealous, that much was evident from the glares filled with hatred that he shot towards James. If the glares that come from anyone else Remus would have said, fairly certainly, that he had been completely in love with Lily Evans, but Severus Snape? That couldn't be, could it?

"It's just awful – I don't believe it…" Jessica trailed off

"James hasn't said a word to him since last year!" Frank added, his brow furrowing as he leant back into the squishy armchairs of the common room. The attack had come straight out the blue – if James had returned to his arrogant fourth year self, then the attack could have been predicted, but as James had seemed to have matured over the summer and the previous year, there was genuinely no cause for the attack, no aggravations, no simmering arguments, no cumulative provocation.

"I know! It's ridiculous!" Sirius agreed, his volume rising higher and higher. The majority of Gryffindor tower were tucked up in bed sleeping soundly ready for classes tomorrow morning, but the seventh year Gryffindors were all still wide awake, all huddled round the fire that despite the late hour was burning brightly. "I just want to see him but they won't let me. Why won't they let me?" Sirius added quietly, his tone more distressed than aggravated. His voice broke as the last syllable left his lips. Slumping into the spare seat, a familiar pair of arms wrapped themselves around him, pulling him close. Inhaling the familiar scent of Hestia's perfume, he was filled him with a desire to pull away from her embrace and to go and hide somewhere she couldn't find him, somewhere where he could quite frankly hide his embarrassment from her, embarrassment at actually being caught out at declaring his true feelings… except, he couldn't find the energy, the night so far was emotionally as well as physically tiring. As soon as the news had been broken by Remus and Alice, Sirius had run down to the hospital wing to find Lily in a right state and himself not being allowed into the hospital wing while Lily was ushered in. He had been returning at irregular intervals since, trying to gain entry to see his brother, but after each try he had been turned away, even attempting to sneak in under the invisibility cloak had failed. Instead of running away from Hestia, he surrendered and relaxed into her arms, allowing their bodies to merge into one form together.

When Sirius had crumpled into the spare seat next to her, she had no hesitation in wrapping her arms around him, it was only once she realised what she had done did she wonder why on earth she had done it. Sirius had been nothing but rude to her since they had returned from summer but she still cared about him greatly and at that moment she seemed to realise he needed someone to hold him and reassure him that everything would be alright, and to be honest, she didn't think Remus would cut it. Her fingers idly stroked the waves of black hair that flowed over his face, her lips gently pressed a kiss to his temple as he leant closer into her as she silently willed him not to pull away and stay with her like his forever.

"I feel for Lily too," Alice broke the silence. "she was in such a state…" Alice's dark blonde hair was scooped up into a short ponytail with the strands that were too short to reach falling loose around her neck; she too had shed a few tears, but was determined to keep strong for Lily, the last thing she needed right now was someone to mollycoddle her, she needed reassuring by someone strong, not a blubbering wreck. Remus agreed with Alice, after he had reached the hospital wing with Professor McGonagall with Lily and James, she had, had to relay her story to the deputy Headmistress. Alice had tried to calm her down but she was so distracted by the Matron setting James' bones that she couldn't concentrate and was promptly left alone by the Professor and the two Prefects. However, the Head of Gryffindor house had gotten all the information she needed from the Head Girl, before she swept away to retrieve Severus Snape, she had suggested that Remus and Alice return to the common room and inform their friends, something that had turned Alice green at the prospect of. As the two Prefects had left, the Headmaster had arrived, at his insistence Lily had left James' side to once again regale her story, before he returned to his office, where Remus had been informed Snape was being supervised by Professor Flitwick.

As Jessica pulled Alice into a close hug, she couldn't imagine what Lily was going through, since her declaration after Transfiguration, she had justified her feelings for James, and seeing that happen to anyone, let alone someone you deeply cared for, must have been horrific. The blonde witch exchanged glances with Remus, she was quite unsure of his intentions as their eyes locked, but she appreciated his sentiment.

"It could have been though; we have to bear that in mind. At least Lily was there and he wasn't alone." Peter spoke into the relative silence, Remus nodded, Sirius mumbled something inaudible into Hestia's shoulder, but the others took it as agreement.

Burying his head into Hestia's mass of hair, he wrapped his arms slightly tighter around her waist, relaxing further into her embrace. Inhaling the floral scent of her perfume, he rested his head on her chest, hers balancing on top of his. Examining the state of her friends, Hestia suddenly felt very guilty at the euphoria that was clouding her brain, she knew she shouldn't feel happy, considering the situation, but with Sirius curled up with her, it was hard to shake off her good mood – although, she had tried. Remus and Peter unusually quiet and withdrawn, Frank was lost in thought – absently rubbing circles on Alice's knee with his thumb. Alice had been unusually detached about the whole ordeal, upon returning to the common room, she had ordered everyone together before relaying the events of the evening and helped Remus to settle everyone when they initially panicked. She had even stopped Sirius from going out and '_hexing Snivellus so hard his grandparents would feel it.' _Hestia was quietly impressed with the usually quiet and emotional Alice Prewitt.

As the portrait hole creaked open, Lily scrambled through, purposely avoiding the gazes of her housemates. Springing up from his position on the sofa in front of the fire, Sirius caught Lily in his arms and held them around her. She nestled her head into his shoulder and inhaled deeply to avoid a sob that threatened to rise in her throat, Sirius tightened his arms around her, his fingers gently stroking the ends of her red tresses.

Sirius was wearing one of James' white school shirts, that much Lily could tell; the sleeves were slightly baggy on him and she could smell the Head Boy's cologne, the smell calmed her racing heart slightly – she was quite unsure whether Sirius knew he was wearing his best friend's shirt or whether they exchanged shirts frequently, or whether he had purposely taken one of James' to avoid ironing and washing his own. As Lily pulled herself away from Sirius, she was overwhelmed by the wave of tiredness that unexpectedly hit her.

"I'm just gonna go…" she explained somewhat awkwardly as she pointed to the dormitory stairs and made her way towards the seventh year girls room. To the untrained eye, Lily may have looked on top of her emotions, in control, however to her best friend, Lily looked like a wreck, before she had even made it to the top of the stairs, Hestia had followed her and slipped inside the still open door before it had closed behind Lily.

"Lils..." Hestia soothed as she closed the door behind her with a soft click. Hestia joined her best friend sitting cross legged on her bed, Lily fiddling with the loose threads on the edge of her sheet. As her green eyes met with Hestia's blue, Lily's normally glittering eyes were rimmed with red and brimming with unshed tears. Leaning close to Lily, Hestia pulled her best friend into her chest.

"Hey, hey, it's okay." Hestia cooed, holding Lily close and rubbing soothing circles on Lily's back. The red head pulled away and wiped the tears from her eyes, a small smile pulling ta her mouth, but the light didn't reach her eyes.

"I know it's stupid to cry." Lily apologised, but Hestia dismissed it with a wave of her hand. "But… its sound ridiculous, but I thought I'd lost him." She added, a quiet sob escaping from her throat, she tried to cover it with a small laugh. "I just realised, as he just lay there, that I don't know what I'd do if I lost him before…" she trailed off with a shake of her head. "It's stupid." She dismissed, but Hestia wasn't ready to let the conversation die.

"What do you mean? Lost him before what?" Hestia urged, her tone soft.

"Before… before I could tell him that I felt the same… That every time I look at him I get butterflies and that I just want to be around him all the time and uh!" Lily rambled, breaking off and burying her head into her hands.

"When did all this come on, I thought you'd had a crush on him for a few days?" Hestia questioned lightly, tucking a strand of Lily's auburn curls behind her ear. Lily lifted she head from her hands; she furiously wiped the tears from her face with the back of his hand.

"I've had a crush on him for a while…" she explained, not meeting Hestia's gaze. "I was just too stubborn to admit it…"

"How long is a while?" Hestia interrogated, an eyebrow raised, how had she not noticed this?! Lily was her best friend after all, and she was pretty close with the Marauders, how had she not noticed a shifting dynamic between two of her best friends?

"About half way through sixth year…" Lily mumbled.

"What!?" Hestia exclaimed "And you didn't tell me?!"

"I didn't know myself!" Lily countered "It was just all so new! I've never felt like this before and… well I thought I'd lost him…" she trailed off, a few tears escaped from the confines of her eyes and slipped down her porcelain cheeks, she hadn't the energy to wipe them away anymore. Hestia pulled her best friend close, cradling her against her body. She shook her head lightly, _well, you learn something new every day_, Hestia mused.

"Look," Hestia offered a moment later, she pulled Lily from her embrace and held her at arm's length. "I think you need sleep, and chocolate but since we don't have that, sleep will have to do." Lily cracked a small smile. Hestia pulled Lily's pyjamas from underneath her covers, passed them to her best friend, who changed quickly. Hestia then pointed imperiously towards her bed and Lily clambered in. Pulling the duvet up to Lily's chin, she wa suddenly reminded of the last time she had done this, it was just after their Defence against the Dark Arts OWL, Lily had spent the evening silently crying into her pillow and fallen asleep still fully clothed on top of her covers; Hestia had pulled the sleepy girl from her bed, changed her and tucked her in, she doubted Lily would even remember. If Lily noticed Hestia's smile, she didn't let on.

"Night Lils." Hestia whispered, before dropping a kiss onto her best friend on the cheek and flicking the light of the fire down with her wand.

As Hestia left the room, Lily exhaled deeply, the darkness was soothing; as the blackness engulfed her, she could forget the emotions swirling around her brain like an expressive tornado and focus on the much needed rest that she longed for. Aside from James, sleep was the only thing she really needed right now.

Hestia's light footsteps were almost undetectable as she made her way down the dormitory stairs and back towards the almost silent common room. As soon as her foot graced the last step, the heads of her friends all whipped around in unison, Hestia found the whole ordeal more than slightly unnerving.

"How is she?" Jessica asked, her arms still wrapped around Alice who was leant into her, Frank's gaze wandered over towards the pair every few seconds, his eyes wide with concern, but Alice seemed okay, albeit slightly more shaken than earlier.

"Alright I guess." Hestia explained, slumping down into the seat next to Sirius, who without hesitation, wrapped his arm around her shoulders, Remus noticed and shot Sirius a knowing look which the other Marauder poignantly ignored. "I sent her to bed; I think sleep will do her some good." She added as an afterthought. Leaning into Sirius, Hestia knew at once how Lily was feeling, she had never had the chance to tell Sirius of her feelings – he'd relayed his and then taken off – thinking about it now, Hestia knew she felt the same as he. Tears pricked her eyes at the thought of never being able to tell him. She inhaled deeply and supressed them, tears were the last thing they needed right now.

Silence fell across the group, it seemed everything had been said, the conversation had been thoroughly worn out, but they all seemed happy to just be around each other, company was something that they all needed tonight.

"Maybe we should call it a night?" Jessica suggested as the clock above the fire chimed two. They'd been sat together, in silence, for over an hour. The comfortable silence had fell upon the group and it seemed wrong to break it, but the drooping of Alice's eyelids and the heavy weight of her own was getting too much to bear.

"Sounds good – I think we all need sleep." Remus added, he looked on the edge of sleep himself. Nodding and mumbling agreements, the seventh years pulled themselves from their comfy chairs and shuffled towards their respective staircases and towards their dormitories. That was, all except for Hestia and Sirius, who stood awkwardly at the bottom of the stairs as their friends filed past.

"So…" Sirius started a few moments after Frank had filed past and towards his single dormitory. Sirius' fingers tapped against his leg inside the pocket of his trousers, his eyes focused solely on Hestia's black ballet style school shoes.

"So, what?" she asked reassuringly, she had waited nearly a week for him to pluck up the courage to even look at her properly, she wasn't going to ruin it now. She wanted to hear what he had to say, no matter how insignificant it sounded, anything would do.

"It doesn't matter now." He dismissed and set up the stairs, avoiding her confused stares and the heat radiating from his face. She sighed; there was no other way to react.

"Night Sirius!" she called up after him in a desperate attempt to at least hear his voice. Pausing on the last step before he pushed open his dormitory door, he looked down the stair case, he couldn't see her, but he knew she was still there, exactly where he'd left her a few moments previous.

"Night Hestia." He called back. Hestia felt her face crack into a wide grin. Taking the dormitory stairs two at a time, she virtually skipped into her room, just in time to see Alice and Jessica climb into their beds, confused glances were thrown her way she changed and clambered into bed with a massive goofy grin still plastered across her face.

"Hey you." James grinned, his dark mood instantly lifted. Compared to the antiseptic scent of the Hospital Wing and the awful dream that had graced his dream, the smiling face of the Head Girl was like a beacon of sunlight in the middle of the night.

"Hey…" Lily replied sheepishly, it was just shy of 6AM, she hadn't been able to sleep. Initially she had woken at around three and forcibly restrained herself from heading down to Hospital Wing where James would undoubtedly be sleeping. Lily had just wanted to see James so badly, she wanted to know what the kiss yesterday had meant, she just wanted to know that she hadn't ruined everything between the two of them… "How you feeling?" she added as an afterthought, it was polite to ask someone that, wasn't it?

"Better for seeing you." He replied with a grin. He pulled himself into more of a sitting position and gestured a blushing Lily closer. As she reluctantly took a seat on the edge of his hospital bed, he could gaze directly into Lily's emerald eyes, eyes that shone like jewels in the light, the eyes he could stare into for hours on end. "I'm okay, everything's fixed and working! I don't quite know what they fixed, think my leg was broken, my ankle too, but I'm okay now." He replied jollily, Lily wanted to smile but she couldn't, she needed to tell him, she needed to tell him everything, the pressure of him not knowing was weighing her down, and even if it ruined everything, she needed for him to know. "Right as rain, a few painkillers and I can leave today!" he exclaimed with a laugh, Lily didn't reciprocate. At this point, James noticed that Lily seemed distant, unsure. "You alright Lil?" he questioned, his face suddenly full of concern, he inched closer to her, lifting her face with a finger under her chin, until her eyes were level with his. The contact made her whole body tingle and long to be closer to him, she longed to be wrapped up in his arms, kissing him, but she pushed those thought to the back of her mind. _Focus Lily_, she told herself.

"I thought you were dead…" she breathed, her voice trembling more than she expected. James' mouth curved into a small smile.

"I felt like it." he replied simply, Lily released a watery laugh. "But after that kiss there's no way of getting rid of me now Evans." He added. Lily stiffened, she was secretly hoping he was so dosed up on antibiotics that he wouldn't remember, she wasn't sure why she did, but she hoped he hadn't remember…

James noticed her posture, crap… he'd ruined everything…. She hadn't meant it, she didn't want him and he'd just ruined everything by bringing it up.

She noticed the doubt cross his hazel eyes, she inwardly sighed, swallowing her pride she said what was crossing her mind before she had time to chicken out.

"I hope not." She replied with a smile. James grinned wildly, did Lily Evans just admit that she liked him, well she implied it and that was enough for him! Resisting the urge to throw himself at her, he swung his legs from under the duvet and dangled them over the other side of the bed. He bent and straightened his previously broken leg and twirled his ankle in a clockwise motion. Bemusedly, Lily looked on not quite knowing what James was doing… they were actually getting somewhere for once, then he turns his back on her and does some ankle exercises, was now really the time?!

"James what are you doing?!" she exclaimed as James slipped off the bed and walked shakily around the bottom of his hospital cot to where she was still sat on the other side of the bed. Silently praying his ankle wouldn't give way, he concluded that would not be attractive.

"I'm okay Lily, look – right as rain!" he answered, gesturing to the now more steady way he walking. Rounding the end of the bed and stopped in front of her, he threw her a wonky grin; crossing her arms in front of her chest, she raised an eyebrow. He was devilishly close to her now, her knees were virtually touching his stomach, his breath mingled with hers as he grinned own at her, his gaze locked with hers. She knew he shouldn't stand this close to her, she might just do something rash, something that if all went well, she definitely would not regret. "And, I didn't want to do this from sat in a hospital bed." He added, Lily noted his voice shook slightly.

"Do wha-" she questioned, but her mouth was cut off by James'. She froze momentarily, but overcoming her initial shock, she relaxed and pressed her lips against James', enthusiastically returning the ecstasy running through her veins. Her hands crept up his school shirt, creased from yesterday's wear; she tugged the smooth cotton to pull James closer to her, his hand both worked into her loose hair, one cradling the back of her neck, keeping her close. As his lips moved across her, fireworks exploded in her brain, obscuring ay other thought than the fact she was kissing James Potter and she _never _wanted it to end. As her fingertips lightly skimmed the skin of his chest between the buttons on his shirt, his whole body erupted into shivers, this was really happening, he was kissing Lily Evans and she was kissing him back. Their breath mingled as Lily realised she was smiling, not smiling, grinning. Their lips broke part but she wasn't quite ready to let go of the tight grip she had on his shirt keeping him close to her, and he wasn't ready to release his hand from the back of her neck. Dropping light kisses on her lips, he sincerely hoped this was not a dream, if it was he didn't think he'd ever be able to cope because nothing in reality would ever be able to live up to that kiss. Lily pressed her forehead against his, his hazel eyes bore into hers, his pupils dilated; she knew hers would be wide and matching. She leant in to press her lips against his again when a loud and sharp wolf whistle broke them from the bubble that encased the two of them. Heads whipping to the entrance of the Hospital Wing, James and Lily were greeted with the sight of a beaming Sirius Black.

"Yes!" he declared, punching the air before rushing forward and throwing his arms around the two of them, holding them so tightly Lily thought she'd suffocate. "Pleased for you man!" Sirius exclaimed, clapping James across the back. "You too Red!" he added, wrapping his arms around the smaller witch, who beamed back. She was the complete antithesis of the tearful witch who had entered the common room the night previous, right now she was glowing, literally glowing; she radiated sunshine, her eyes like lamps and her smile lighting up her entire face. "So is it official yet?" Sirius questioned excitedly, his eyes flicking back and forth between the two of them.

"We haven't got to that bit yet." James hissed. "In case you hadn't realised, we were a bit _busy_." James added, a grin breaking out across his face. "So…" he trailed off, turning to face a smirking Lily. "What?" James laughed as Lily's mischievous smirk unfurled further.

"Go out with me Potter?" she teased, tugging his shirt until his face was only a papers width away from hers.

"You don't know how long I've wanted you to say that." James replied before pressing his lips against hers.

"I do! Now come on!" Sirius interrupted, gesturing to the exit. "We need to go tell the others!" Lily paled slightly; she opened her mouth to reply but was cut off the furious matron who had emerged from her office.

"Mr Black will you please be quiet!" she ordered, dressed in a pair of pale blue night robes and matching night cap, her expression infuriated.

"But, _Poppy_!" Sirius whined. "I'm excited! Lily and James _finally _got together! Even you know how HUGE this is!" he added, gesturing madly between the Head Boy and Girl. "And who am I going to wake up?! There's no-one here!" Sirius exclaimed, it was true, James had been the only occupant of the Hospital Wing last night, it seemed he was the first student to require medical treatment this term. The matron's expression softened somewhat, that was until she realised that James was out of bed.

"Congratulations," She offered "but speaking of Mr Potter, what are you doing out of bed?" James brushed off her concern.

"I feel fine Madame Pomfrey! See, right as rain!" he declared, gesturing to the beaming smile on his face with one hand, while the other curved around Lily's waist. "In fact, I'm going down to breakfast with my girlfriend." Grinning, James dropped his hand from Lily's waist to her fingers, who in return wrapped her slender fingers around his. Sirius beamed and made to follow them, that was until Madame Pomfrey caught him by the arm and dragged him backwards, muttering about noise and disrespect.

**AN: I hope you liked this chapter! I was planning on leaving James and Lily getting together until the next chapter but I couldn't help it! I had to get them together sooner rather than later! Thank you for reading and remember to review! :D xxxx (UPDATED CHAPTER 12)**


	13. Duel

**Chapter 13 – duel**

_**Recap: Severus Snape is called to professor Dumbledore's office to explain his actions to the Headmaster, he denies everything. The Headmaster doesn't believe him and doles out punishments. As Severus leaves, Albus pleads that if he ever needs help, to come to him, Snape disregards this and stalks off towards the Slytherin common room. **_

_**The seventh year Gryffindor's all gather in the common room to come together at the testing time, Sirius is unsure why on earth Severus would hex James when they hadn't even spoken, Remus wonders if it is because Snape is jealous of James. Lily returns to the common room and is out to bed by Hestia, who later shares a small moment with Sirius. **_

_**Lily heads down to Hospital Wing the next morning, she and James kiss, only to be interrupted by Sirius. Lily teasingly asks James to go out with her and they make it official. **_

Astonishment and confusion etched across the faces of virtually every student and teacher sitting in the Great Hall. In some places money changed hands – although James and Lily didn't notice, even up at the Teachers table Professor Bensheath grudgingly handed a couple of golden coins into the smirking hand of Professor McGonagall. Lily was shocked to find the Great Hall far more full than could usually be expected for such an early hour on a Saturday morning; for a few seconds, nobody had noticed James and Lily hand in hand, but before they'd even had chance to take more than a few steps, the whole hall had turned to stare silently at the two Head Students. Silence fell upon the student body, Lily felt violently sick, for the second time that week she had, had everyone staring at her; it was more than slightly unnerving. The silence however, lasted only a moment before all five tables seated in the hall burst into applause, virtually the whole of the Gryffindor table on their feet. Even the poor, old teachers were stood, James couldn't be sure but he was sure that he saw McGonagall wipe a tear from her eye in between claps.

"A bit much, don't you think?" James joked in Lily's ear, his fingers giving hers a slight squeeze. Lily giggled by way of agreement. Attempting to make their way to their usual seats at the Gryffindor table, Lily lost count of the amount of times _congratulations_ or _it's about time!_ was yelled their direction.

Flopping down in her seat next to James, Lily felt an enormous grin spread across her face. Jessica and Alice were staring open mouthed at her, gawping.

"Jess, shut your mouth, I can see the remiments of that toast you just ate!" Hestia complained, pushing a strand of her curly hair behind her ear. "And you!" she said directly at Lily. "When were you going to tell me about you two?!"

"It literally just happened!" James defended, "in the hospital wing of all places!" giving Lily's waist a gentle squeeze, he softly kissed her cheek, still not quite believing after all this time she was actually his! A faint blush crept into Lily's cheeks, her mouth tugging into a grin, a grin that she knew James was also wearing. She vaguely aware of eyes from all four tables staring at the pair of them, but she was too elated to notice as she leant further into James and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek, to which he blushed ever so slightly. Jessica rolled her eyes and mimed being sick, Alice tutted – Lily wasn't sure who it was aimed at, but she giggled lightly anyway – no matter how much her friends would probably tease her, she knew they were happy for her really.

"Eww – please keep that away from the breakfast table, I can't be dealing with that this early in the morning! And shouldn't you be in the Hospital Wing anyway James?" Hestia exclaimed, suddenly for the first time truly noticing James' presence. James dismissed her concern.

Breakfast was ultimately the strangest meals Lily had, she wasn't sure whether it was the inquisitive and frankly judgemental stares from other tables or the constant questioning from all those around them – then again it had to be strange, at the end of fifth year (and slightly before) Lily and James had been at each other's throat on a regular basis, now at the beginning of their seventh year they were dating, even Lily had to admit, the thought was comical.

"Honestly you lot, you think you'd let them eat their breakfast in peace!" Sirius interrupted the stream of questions from an overenthusiastic Hufflepuff on the next table. As the other Marauder dropped onto the bench next to James, smirking as he did. Finally being able to spoon the scrambled egg into his mouth and take an indulgent bite from his crumpet, James shot Sirius a thankful glance. Shaking his head, Sirius stole half a slice of cold toast from James' plate, obviously disregarded during his bout of question time, either James didn't notice Sirius' thievery or was deliberately ignoring it. Flashing a grin towards Hestia as he reached for his own slice of toast, she was relieved to notice the awkward tension between them had all out disappeared.

"Oh, Moons?" Sirius added, Remus looked away from his conversation with Peter, just in time to catch Sirius' cheeky smirk before it was replaced by a more neutral expression. "it's Friday and they're together, you owe me a galleon." Remus shook his head.

"Actually if you remember correctly Padfoot, I bet they'd be together by Saturday, it was Peter who said Thursday, so he in fact owes you a galleon, not me." Remus replied, Peter shooting him an affronted stare.

"Way to bail me out there Lupin!" Peter wailed, his head hanging in his hands. Remus shrugged.

"You should get better at betting then." Remus teased, nudging his companion with his elbow before returning to his breakfast.

"Excuse me?!" James exclaimed, spitting toast crumbs across the table as he spoke, much to the amusement of the girls, Peter and Frank who dissolved into fits of silent giggles.

"We had this bet you see," Sirius explained "I bet that you and Lily would be together by Friday of the first week of school, Peter said Thursday and Remus said Saturday - ye of little faith! And now Peter owes me a galleon" Sirius almost shouted. Peter, looking incredibly embarrassed, pulled the golden coin out of his robe pocket and handed it to Sirius; hanging his head back over his breakfast as he tried to avoid the gazes of his friends. Tutting Lily continued with her breakfast, sneaking glances at James and smiling when they caught each other's eye. As the group of Gryffindor's continued with their breakfast and chatted aimlessly, they were all oblivious to the eagle eyed stare watching their every move from a greasy haired boy on the opposite side of the room, the Slytherin table to be exact.

Vomit rose in Severus Snape's throat at the thought of the two of them together. Furthermore, his stomach lurched at the thought of Lily wrapped up in James' arms, his hands wandering, their lips meeting… forcing himself to look away from the scene being acted out in front of him at the Gryffindor table, he focused on the plate in front of him, empty aside from half a slice of dry toast that he couldn't bring himself to eat. As one of only a small handful of Slytherin students up at this early time, bar a few first years at the other end, Severus had the table virtually all the himself – which was a godsend at that particular moment. If Mulciber, or Avery, or Wilkes had woken early as he did, they might have jeered as he dug his fingernails into the wooden table top and mercilessly bullied him about his on-going fascination with the muggleborn red head.

As Lily and James shared a secret look, Severus questioned how Lily could even bear to have that git anywhere near her, let alone have arm curled around her waist, his head leant against her shoulder, his lips against hers. The sick feeling threatened to overcome him once again, his mind wandered subconsciously back to his house mates and what they'd think about the inner turmoil squirming through Severus' body, how much they verbally torture him over his infatuation… as the sick feeling subsided slightly, it was replaced by a deep set anger towards the Head Boy, _everything was his fault. If he hadn't been there last night, if he hadn't been there that day at the lake, if he hadn't been born, none of this wouldn't have happened. He was the one in the wrong, not me. He is the one Lily should despise, not me. I should be the one with Lily, making her laugh, stroking her hair, not Potter, definitely not Potter. _ As Lily leant into James and pressed her lips against hers, the corner of her lips tugging into a small smile, Severus felt the nauseous feeling return. Unable to even be in the same room as _the happy couple_, Severus pushed himself away from the bench and stormed from the table at such a pace that his robes began to billow. If anyone tried to stop him or got in his way, he'd hex them, jinx them, whatever – student teacher, ghost, he didn't care. What would they do? Expel him? HA! He didn't care, he didn't need this pathetic school, he had bigger plans, better plans.

The exit of Severus Snape may not have caused much of a distraction for many of the students in hall; a few turned an uninterested head before returning to their own conversations, he had certainly caught the full attention of Sirius Black. Red flashed before Sirius' eyes, his hands curling into fists, he pushed himself from his seat and without hesitation, made to leave the hall.

Hestia, watching him, caught his eye line. Reaching across the table top, she caught Sirius wrist, caught off guard by the sudden contact, he momentarily stopped.

"Please don't." she pleaded. Holding her gaze for a small second, he shook his head as Snape filed out of the Great hall doors, his face like thunder. Sirius pulled from her grasp, sending her apologetic glance before following Severus' direction. After a moment's hesitation, Hestia made a pathetic excuse to leave the table, in the middle of a conversation she wasn't sure anyone even heard her as she too left the table and followed in Sirius' footsteps.

As Hestia sprinted through the corridors, she desperately tried to keep track of the footsteps that pounded the flagstone floor some ten seconds before her own. When the sound of footsteps subsided, she listened vainly for sounds of a scuffle but corridors were silent, eerily so. Pulling her fingers through the roots of her hair, she wracked her brain for where she thought Severus Snape would go if he was brooding, which he undoubtedly was… _Dungeons!_ That was it! If she was a creepy Slytherin who wanted to be left alone, she would head down to the dungeons, it was perfect for someone who was lurking and wanted to be left alone – no one went down there aside from Potions class or Prefect patrols, herself included, the place gave her the creeps.

As quietly as she could, she took the steps one at a time, listening for sounds of movement between every step, but even straining her ears, she didn't hear a thing. A sudden draft caught Hestia off guard as an involuntary shiver ran down the length of her body. Pulling her robes slightly tighter around herself, she took the last few steps quicker than the rest and quickly stepped out into the empty corridor. At first glance, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, that was until she noticed the door to the far classroom - one that knew went unused – was left slightly ajar; it seemed odd that Professor Slughorn, the Potions Master, would allow one of his classrooms to be left open for anyone to use. She walked as quickly as her feet would carry her, but they felt like lead, weighing her down as she tried to get to the open door. The corridor seemed to stretch on for miles, but eventually her feet carried her there, she almost breathed a sigh of relief… almost; for what she saw round the edge of the heavy oak door took her breath away.

Sirius and Severus Black were stood barley three wands lengths apart, their wands pointed threateningly at each other. Sirius snarled and Severus smirked, before throwing some scathing comment towards his opponent, but no sound came from mouth, no sound could be heard. Muttering a counter charm to the _silencio_, their voices suddenly sprung to life, neither wizard aware that their world was now very public.

"What has he done to you Snivellus? What had James done to you?!" Sirius accused, the end of his wand glowing with a faint red light, reflecting the anger playing across its owner face. Hestia concluded she had never seen Sirius this angry, his face was contorted with fury, his knuckles white with the ferocity he gripped his wand with. Snape on the other hand looked increasingly calm, knowing he had gotten under Black's skin egging him on.

"Prat deserved it." Snape conversed, his face twisting into yet another smirk.

"How can you even say that Snape! James hasn't spoken to you in over a year!" Sirius retorted, his wand glowing threateningly. Trembling with fury, Sirius was about to do something rash, Hestia could tell.

"Go for it _Black_, show me what you're made of, live up to your name." Severus sneered, lording over Sirius, who was gripping desperately at the last remnants of his diminishing self-control. As Severus' retort rolled off his tongue, he knew he'd struck a chord with the Gryffindor, the vein throbbed in Sirius' forehead, revealing his inner turmoil, barely withholding the urge to hex the Slytherin.

"Say that again and I'll kill you, go on, I dare you, test me." Sirius snarled. Hestia didn't doubt Sirius for a second, Severus had pushed him to the edge – he had hurt his brother and now he had the nerve to taunt Sirius over his family name; Sirius had never been one to resist goading and Hestia was relatively impressed he'd managed to hold onto the vestibules of his self-control this far. As Sirius wand trembled in his hand, the faint red light grew brighter, Hestia knew she had to intervene before something happened that she knew Sirius would regret.

"Stop it! Stop it both of you, right now!" she ordered imperiously, storming through the now open door, desperate to avoid the oncoming duel. Their attentions taken away from each other, the both stared confusedly at Hestia for a moment before their resentment resurfaced. Severus sneered at the witch, before promptly ignoring her words and resettling his attention on Sirius Black. Sirius however, didn't take his eyes from hers, something about the steely determination her saw in them told him she was serious, this was no time for messing around. "Put your wands down, before you do something you'll regret." She added, trying to sound as forceful as she could with her insides trembling as much as hers were.

"I'm sorry Jones;" Sirius began, returning his gaze to Snape, his wand still pointed threateningly towards the other boy. "but I won't regret a thing." A flash of fury across Severus' face told her, he agreed.

Feeling the moment slipping between her fingers, she steeled her resolve and prepared to reason with both of the wizards again but neither were listening to her anymore. The two wizards both aimed their wands ready to strike, each eyeing each other for their next move. Severus and Sirius were both accomplished duellers, years of being in the same house as one of them had taught her that lesson - that and the late nights Hestia had stayed up to soothe Sirius' cuts and scrapes after a late night scuffle in the corridor with said Slytherin. The outcome of this duel, especially when both were out for blood, would be catastrophic. She had no plan left, she had wrongly assumed at upon seeing her arrival the pair would stop their duel, maybe throw a punch or two, and it would be over, but she was wrong. She stood there, unable to stop the oncoming duel, nausea threatened to overtake her, but she swallowed it and replaced it with the need to stop the oncoming duel. Grasping Sirius' free hand, he tried to plead with him.

"Please Sirius, don't do this." Surprised by the sudden skin contact, Sirius' attention was drawn to her, her body language told her he needed to do this, hex Snape, but she saw the doubt in his eyes, he was beginning to see the situation from her side, her point of view. As if reading the part of his mind that was still clinging to his wand, she added: "You _don't_ have to do this." As desperation flashed across Hestia's face, Sirius knew she had a point… he didn't have to hex Snape, karma would catch up with the git and when it did, he would make sure he was there to make sure Snape got his just desserts. Throwing his attention back to Snape, Sirius smirked, Hestia couldn't read what was going through Sirius' mind, had he listened to her, or was she simply about to be pulled into the fray.

"You're right; he's not worth my time, filth." Sirius spat. Exhaling the breath she didn't know she'd been holding, Hestia tried to subdue a grin. Flinging her arms around his neck, he pulled her tight. As the soft curls of his hair spread across her face, she wished she could stay there forever, in his arms, but the situation would not allow it. Their bodies had barely touched when the hex whizzed past, dangerously close to her ear. Sirius pulled away sharply.

"What was that for?!" Sirius questioned, keeping one arm curled round Hestia's waist, she was trembling but she seemed okay. "What on earth did Hestia do to you? Apologize now." Sirius roared. Severus smirked.

"You really expect me to stand there while you two have a moment? I don't think so." The Slytherin retorted. "How touching." He drawled. "Shame you shied away from us Sirius, you would have made an excellent servant for the- " but Severus didn't get chance to finish the thought, Sirius launched himself across the room and seized the Slytherin by the collar, his wand still gripped tightly in his fingers.

"Repeat that." Sirius dared, revelling in the spark of fear that played across Snape's features before being replaced by a more neutral expression. Hestia had never seen Sirius so furious, his handsome features contorted into one of pure unadulterated rage, his whole body trembled and the vein in his forehead throbbed wildly threatening to explode. Sirius Black detested the death eaters, he had more reason than most, he'd been brought up in a house that valued the ideology of Voldemort and been indoctrinated into thinking he was superior, of higher status than those around him, simply because his blood was purer than theirs. The whole of the ancient, most noble house of Black supported the actions of the dark Lord, if they were not all out Death eaters themselves. His cousin Bellatrix was said to be the madman's most loyal servant, his best lieutenant; her sister Narcissa, only two years out of Hogwarts was already being lined up to marry Lucius Malfoy, a close aid of her sister's and rumoured to be in Voldemort's inner circle.

"Sirius Black, a death eater?! HA don't make me laugh Snape." Sirius spat. "You're deluded, you _all_ are! You hear me? Whilst Albus Dumbledore is still alive you don't stand a chance." Sirius threw Severus from his grasp, Snape stumbled but didn't fall. Hestia tried to make eye contact with Sirius as he returned to where she stood but his eyes were trained on the far wall. Brushing off his robes, Severus' smirk returned.

"Your brother doesn't seem to agree." He drawled, rolling his wand between his fingers.

"Regulus? What had Regulus got to do with this?" confusion spread across Sirius' face, his brain whirring so quickly he was unable to play Snape's mind games. Hestia gasped, her hand covering her mouth, Sirius may not have understood, but she did. Severus grinned at Hestia's reaction.

"You knew full well what I meant Black," Sirius' mind began to comprehend what Snape had said, an idea swam around his sub consciousness but he prayed he was wrong. "Or at least one of your little girlfriends does." Sirius turned to her, fear played through his eyes, it was a side she had never seen in Sirius before. He seemed vulnerable, slightly broken even.

"Hestia?" he whispered, she doubted Snape would have heard. She shook her head, she knew the news would break him, with a few small words she could cave in the perfect world he had made for himself, bring all the memories of tortured childhood flooding back, that was not something she could do. Feeling violently sick, he knew he'd reached the same conclusion as Hestia, he prayed to every god that he could think of that he was wrong.

"Your baby brother is a death eater Black, like it or not." Snape drawled. Within a moment, Sirius' wand was trained on Severus' face. Though he would not admit it, the Slytherin was quite impressed at the Gryffindor's reflexes.

"You're lying." Sirius spat. He had to be wrong, he had to be lying, trying to rile him up into a fight… he _had_ to be lying… but the sinking feeling in his stomach told him that Snape was telling the truth. It was a fear that had lingered in Sirius' brain ever since he had left the Black house, whilst he was still there, he bore the brunt of his mother's desires and tirades, Regulus being the second born was free to live a blissful being, free from the pressures of the first born; but after his departure, Regulus was thrown into the role of heir, something he had not wished and had not been trained for and it seemed, unlike Sirius, he had caved under his mother's wishes.

"Would I lie to you Sirius?" Snape cooed. He was prepared for the hex that was likely to be thrown, prepared for the jinx. He didn't care, he had provoked the reaction he wanted. But instead of throwing curses in the direction of Severus Snape, Sirius surprised the both of them by lowering his wand and tearing from the room before either he or Hestia even had chance to realise what was happening. Hestia shot him a filthy stare before following Sirius from the room, leaving him alone in the disused classroom.

Exhaling slowly, Severus hadn't realised he'd been holding his breath. The sudden drop in adrenaline left him feeling violently sick and remembering the look on Sirius' face as he had grasped him by the collar, his face only an inch from his own didn't help, the fear and rage that flickered across Sirius' face was enough to make anyone tremble. Sirius Black was a very intimidating man when he wanted to be. _But gone are the days when he could intimidate me._ Severus decided. _He's nothing, worthless._ Drained of energy, Severus dropped onto the floor; his back leant against the cold stone wall. In taking a deep breath, he filled his lungs with much needed oxygen and released it slowly through his nose. He tried to clear his mind but the only thought that played through his mind was Lily, what would she think when she heard of his confrontation with Black. Holding his head in his hands, he concluded she'd never forgive him. Once again, he had made a rash decision that he would live to forget.

"Sirius, stop! Please!" Hestia pleaded, her heart thudding in her chest and she struggled to keep up with Sirius' fast pace. She was virtually running to maintain the small distance between them. If Sirius heard her, he ignored her, stalking through the corridors he didn't even know where he was going, anywhere but the dungeons – they just reminded him of Regulus, that last thing he wanted on his mind at that moment.

"Sirius Black, you listen to me right now!" Hestia bellowed, trying to channel the imperious nature of Lily's Prefect voice. Knowing he couldn't ignore her any longer, he stopped abruptly. Hestia caught up with him and stood behind him. "Sirius…" she breathed, unable to think of anything to say. Slowly, he turned to face her, tears slipping from his grey eyes, she didn't even know if Sirius knew they were falling. He looked broken, something inside him was broken and she just hoped she could fix him. Wrapping her arms around his shoulders, she pulled him closer to her, as he buried his head in the mountain of her chocolate coloured curls, he began to sob. Each sound pierced the still air and broke a tiny part of her heart as they did.

"He's my brother, my baby brother…" Sirius stuttered into her neck. Dropping kisses into his hair, she didn't know what to say, was there anything she could say? All she knew she could do was stay with him and soothe him. She hadn't expected this at all, Regulus was a good kid, but it seemed, even good kids could be corrupted…

A moment later, Sirius pulled away. Inhaling deeply, he wiped the tears from his face and ran a hand through his elegant black waves of hair. He exhaled slowly, trying to regain composure. He turned to Hestia and offered her a watery smile.

"Thanks." He offered. Hestia smiled back.

"It's what I'm here for." She replied. Leaning in, she brushed her lips against his. He made to lean in further, but she leant away, now was not the time, or the place. He looked disappointed, but hid it well. Inhaling deeply once again, he offered her another small smile.

"I'm just gonna go." He replied, pointing weakly in the opposite direction. She nodded. As he walked away her from her, she regretted not kissing him properly; if she had, she could be filled with elation, her stomach flip flopping around her insides, the fuzzy feeling that only came from kissing Sirius coursing through her veins, but instead she was stood alone in the corridor, staring ahead, feeling truly, truly crap.

**AN – hope you liked seeing the different side to Sirius, I thought although he and Regulus didn't get on, it would still break his heart hearing that he was a Death eater and hope I did that justice! Thank you for reading, please add a review, just a little one? **** xxx**


	14. Breakfast

Chapter 14 – Breakfast

_**Recap: Lily and James enter the Great Hall as couple for the first time, everyone is delighted, students and teachers alike. Money exchanges hands, including within the Marauders and between the Professors; Severus Snape feels nauseous and storms out the Great Hall to avoid it all. Sirius notices and wants revenge for his attack on James – which the others have forgotten in the midst of it all. Hestia tries to stop him but he follows Snape, and she follows Sirius. On the brink of a dual, Snape reveals that Regulus has become a death eater and Sirius walks away to be comforted by Hestia before leaving on his own. **_

The sun streamed through a gap in the curtains, leaving a thin layer on the early Saturday morning sunshine across Lily Evans' bed. Stretching awake, a smile spread across her face, most unusual considering the early hour! But she couldn't remember a day when she'd felt more elated, it was hard to feel grumpy when she remembered James Potter's lop sided grin, or the way he'd get nervous around her and play unconscious with his hair, or the way he'd kiss her… it was not even 24 hours since she's finally given in to the butterflies swimming around her stomach and decided being James Potter's girlfriend might not be so bad after all, and she couldn't wipe that stupid grin from her face.

Tip toeing from her bed to bathroom as quietly as she could, she inwardly cringed as the door squeaked loudly before clicking shut, staying silent for a moment longer she didn't hear any of her dorm mates stir and sighed that she'd thankfully not woken them, Hestia's reaction at being woken so early on weekend morning but would not be one she dared to see.

Casting a quick a silencing charm, she turned the dial on the shower and it roared to life. Even the scalding water couldn't wash away the grin that was still plastered across her face.

Once she was clean and her hair had been dried with a flick of her wand, she wrapped one of her pink fluffy towels around herself and vainly attempting to squeeze around the door without it creaking but to no avail. Alice rolled over, but none of her other friends stirred. She dressed as quickly and quietly as she could, pulling on her favourite jeans, red sweater, followed by black ankle boots and made her way across the dorm, closing the door behind her with a faint click.

Descending the stairs, Lily was surprised to find another student up and awake sat in the common room. As she came to the bottom she noticed it was a boy absently filling in the crossword at the back of the Daily Prophet, at the sound of her footsteps, the boys head span round and she was staring back into the grinning face of James Potter. Hair stuck at mad angles and his glasses slightly askew, he dropped the paper onto the table and made light work o crossing the common room to greet her.

"Morning sunshine." He chimed, kissing her cheek lightly. "Wasn't expecting you for at least another hour." He added, his eyes scanning over the watch on his left wrist. "I assumed as you weren't a morning person I'd be able to finish my crossword! Speaking of the crossword, fon't suppose you know the drummer's last name from the Mermaid Watch do you? Five letters?" he questioned, a small smirk unfurling across his lips.

"Queen." She replied with an eyebrow raised. "Who doesn't know that?!" she teased, playfully shoving his shoulder.

"Hey!" James protested "I haven't listened to them in ages! They're last album was pants! What are you doing awake this early anyway?" he asked, taking her hand and making their way slowly across the common room.

"I was hungry." Lily answered with a blatant lie and her cheeks flushed slightly. James noticed and grinned.

"Well I guess we'd better go get food then!" he answered, pushing open the portrait hole and followed her through.

Taking their usual seats at the Gryffindor table, Lily and James began to help themselves to toast, sausages, bacon and porridge, whatever they felt like. Buttering two slices of brown toast Lily cast a glance around the Hall; only three other students were up at this time on a Saturday morning. Two students from Ravenclaw were animatedly chatting as one ate a bacon sandwich, the other spooned cereal into his mouth whilst simultaneously scanning a textbook propped open against the milk jug.

The only other student was sat at the Slytherin table, although his face was obscured by a wall of lank black hair, Lily knew immediately that it as Severus Snape. Quickly obscuring his vision and returning her gaze to her plate, Lily was affronted to discover one of the slices of toast missing. As she looked towards her boyfriend, he hurriedly forced down what looked suspiciously like the remnants of her toast down his throat; she tried to muster her best prefect glare but failed miserably at the sight of James' cheeks puffed out like a hamster as she tried to swallow the sheer volume of bread that he had just crammed into his mouth.

"You look like a chipmunk!" Lily giggled as James forced the last of her toast down. He shook his head.

"I have Quidditch practice this morning, I'm trying out a few new members of the team, I'll need my strength!" he declared dramatically, eyeing up her second piece of toast despite his full plate.

"You're still going to play after everything that's happened this week?" she asked, suddenly concerned. Snape's ears pricked, although Lily didn't elaborate further.

"Course I am! Gave up two of my dinner hours to scout these players, not letting those go to waste. I'll be fine Lils." He added after Lily's anxiousness failed to disappear. Cupping her face in his hands, he pressed his lips to hers and kissed her gently, he could feel a smile spread across his face as she returned the kiss, more enthusiastically than he knew was possible for this time of the morning. He couldn't quite believe this, he was kissing Lily Evans and she was kissing him back; he prayed it was never something he'd ever take for granted, after all, she deserved more than that, and he'd be damned if he'd let ever let anyone give her what she deserved.

"Besides, I don't need my legs for Quidditch." He added with a wink as he pulled away. She playfully slapped at his arm.

"Way to ruin a moment Potter." She teased, sapping his arm away a second time she he reached for her remaining slice of toast.

"We were having a moment were we?" James countered with a grin.

"Until you ruined it." She answered matter of factly, taking a bite from the corner of the toast which was quickly going cold. James reached for the slice, held loosely between her fingers, sensing what James was about to do, she ran her tongue from one end to the other in a quick fluid motion.

"Ha!" she declared proudly. "You won't want it now I've licked it!" but James defied her and took the slice from between her fingers and took a bite.

"Lily, you know I'll still eat it." He replied, a wicked grin spreading from ear to ear.

"You're impossible!" she concluded, as she stole a rasher of bacon from his plate much too James' amusement.

They were insufferable, Snape decided. Trudging down to breakfast early he'd hoped to avoid the crush – Lily and Potter included. Well aware that seeing Lily Evans rise before 12 noon on a weekend was a rare sight, he thought he'd be safe at eight o'clock but he'd been mistaken and was forced to endure their intolerable flirting as his swift exit would surely be noted and commented upon.

He wanted to scream. As Lily's lips slid across Potter's he silently urged the two fourth year Ravenclaw students to tut in disgust although neither seemed to have noticed and he was forced to sit through their ridiculous charade. He wanted nothing more to storm from the Great Hall and retire to his dormitory, close the curtains around his bed and sulk out of the sight of Avery, Wilkes or Mulciber. Instead he was stuck rooted to the spot, concentrating on ignoring the way Lily's eyes lingered on Potter's mouth and flickered towards his direction before returning to her flirting. James may not have noticed his presence but the icy glare she had thrown his way made it blindingly obvious that Lily had, but now her attention had been stolen by James, stealing each other's food and giggling.

They seemed so comfortable in each other's presence, it was almost impossible to believe this was the same Lily Evans who only a few short years ago had assured him that she held nothing but loathing for him as he noticed her eyes straying over his silhouette more and more frequently.

Severus Snape wanted to punch something; he wanted to hurt something, someone, preferably James Potter. He wanted to bleed, he wanted to take his anger out on something other than digging his short nails into the soft flesh of his palms, he wanted to scream and throw things, make a scene in the vain hope that Lily would see what a fool of herself she was making and dump James Potter before she could taint herself any more with his touch.

Seizing the moment, as Lily became engrossingly interested in James Potter's mouth, Severus quietly skulked around the edge of the hall and the next time Lily's eyes flicked towards his direction, he was gone.

"Morning Lily-kins!" Sirius sang as she slotted himself in the seat next to Lily, who was still glued to James' side. She rolled her eyes at the nickname and shook her head as Sirius flashed her a grin.

"You know you love it Evans." He teased. At the sound of his friend's voice, James looked up.

"Ready for Quidditch Padfoot?" James asked as he watched Jessica fill her face with an overfilled spoon of porridge. At the mention of his favourite sport, Sirius' grin spread even further, but an air of concern waved across his chiselled features.

"I am, but are you sure you should be playing?"

"Course he is, don't need legs for Quidditch." Jessica mumbled through a second mouthful of porridge, to which James agreed.

"Excellent, we couldn't function without our drill sergeant, I mean captain." Sirius joked barking a laugh before winking at Jessica, who winked back.

Feigning offence, James tried to look affronted, but failed miserably when Jessica's spoon finally gave up and emptied half its contents down the front of her Quidditch jumper much to her distaste; and frankly, he could be a bit of a demon when it came to training his team, practice sessions lasted gruelling hours and the team often crawled back to the castle, but it'd all be worth it when they held that cup at the end of the year.

"You can be a real tyrant sometimes James." Jessica added once she'd managed to clean the worst of the breakfast from her jumper with a tissue supplied by Peter and removed the rest with her wand. Jessica knew exactly what James could be like, she'd been on the team as long as he had, and James had to admit, was one of the finest flyers in the school.

"Don't see you complaining when we win though." James reminded triumphantly, folding her arms behind his head and leaning backwards, forgetting there was no back to the school benches and toppling backwards, only saved by a hand from Remus grabbing the front of his jumper without taking his eyes away from his copy of the paper. James capped Remus' shoulder in thanks, to which his friend nodded in recognition.

"Guessing you lot are coming to watch?" Jessica asked, looking towards her friends, Remus who was still reading the paper nodded as he spooned fried egg into his mouth.

"Do we have a choice?" Lily responded sarcastically.

"Nope." James and Sirius chimed in unison, high fiving each other behind Lily's head without making eye contact. Lily and Jessica exchanged astonished looks to which Sirius smirked before starting on his breakfast.

"It's a Marauder thing ladies, should be used to that by now." Hestia mock chided, appearing behind Jessica and slipping into the seat opposite Lily.

"You get used to it after a while." Peter added. Lily and Jessica flushed slightly at being caught but Remus grinned, looking up from his paper, he offered Jessica smile, despite the pull of the oncoming full moon, being around her cheered him up somewhat.

"Morning." Sirius offered the new arrival, to which Hestia cheerfully returned. It seemed the uneasiness between the pair was beginning to dissipate and harmony was beginning to return to their group. Blissfully unaware of what had occurred between her two fellow Gryffindors the previous morning, Lily noted Sirius had been more subdued than usual, but nothing else seemed to have changed so had no reason to suspect what had transpired between Sirius and Snape the morning before. All she knew was things were beginning to return to normal.

"Where are Prewitt and Longbottom?" Sirius questioned a while later through a mouthful of sausage and bacon. Jessica shrugged, Hestia rolled her eyes, of all the people she could have fallen for, it had to be this one.

"They were going over homework when I left." She added after a moment's silence. Sirius nodded before standing and brushing the breakfast crumbs from his white Quidditch jumper.

"Well better find them soon, because its Quidditch time."

Walking at a slightly slower pace than the rest of their group, James intertwined his fingers with Lily's as the Quidditch stadium loomed into view. Squeezing her hand lightly, he was surprised when she squeezed back, a grin breaking across her features. It was a grin that James would never tire of seeing, and he couldn't quite believe that 6 years after they first met, she was finally his. He had expected to wake this morning and the whole thing had been a cruel nightmare, but yet here she was, brilliant auburn curls cascading over her shoulders and her emerald eyes gazing playfully up at him, and she was all his.

"I still can't believe you're going to play." Lily said bluntly, not quite believing what she was saying. "Yesterday morning you were in the hospital wing!" she added for good measure.

"Worried about me Evans?" he answered with a cocky smirk.

"Course not." She countered with a grin. "Just I've got a bet with Cattermole you'll lose and he'll have to forfeit if you don't play, just don't want to lose money." She teased.

"Thanks!" He replied and he pushed her playfully in retaliation. Leaning on James' shoulder as they came up to the Quidditch pitch, Lily knew that becoming James' girlfriend was definitely the best decision she'd made in a long time, with him at her side she felt safe, protected, something which you couldn't take for granted in the current climate… as they entered the shadow of the stadium, they fell in line with their friends.

"Come along Prongs, we should go." Sirius barked, and without waiting for an answer, set off towards the Gryffindor changing rooms, Jessica hot on his tail.

Alice, Hestia and Frank, headed off towards the stands, to find seats, Peter and Remus not far behind, leaving James and Lily momentarily alone.

"Wish me luck Evans?" James teased, a mischievous grin spreading across his face. Dragging his hand through his already messy black hair, he only succeeded in redefining the areas of his hair which stuck up at random angles.

"Shut up Potter." she quipped, and if he needed any extra indication that Lily wanted him to stop talking, she stood on her tip toes and kissed his mouth. Returning the kiss, James ran his hand through Lily's long curls, as he pulled her closer; she curled her arm around his neck pressing herself against him.

The kiss only broke apart when Sirius, already changed into his Quidditch uniform, shouted from the doorway to the changing rooms for James "to put her down and get his backside changed before he pushed him off her broomstick from a great height." Not knowing whether Sirius was being serious, James reluctantly said his goodbye's to Lily and rushed off towards Sirius, who was now tapping his wrist and tutting.

**Author's note: Hope you liked this chapter! I enjoyed writing it **** if there are any mistakes or anything, don't hesitate to tell me, anywhere through my story, and I'll try to get them fixed as soon as I can! And thank you for all your reviews, they mean the world! That sounds really corny, but it's true, they make me smile! Please review – even a short one? xxxxx**


	15. Quidditch

Chapter 15 –

_**Recap: Lily wakes up early and finds James waiting for her in the common room and they head down to breakfast. Severus Snape is there and the whole charade between James and Lily makes him want to be sick and scream, but he doesn't leave until Lily is too reoccupied to notice. The rest of the group eventually trickle down to the Great Hall, if asked if he is still playing after the attack, James and Jessica both reply that you don't need legs for Quidditch and they head down to the pitch. **_

As the wind whipped through his hair, his broom travelling at what felt like the speed of lightning, James concluded that he felt most alive when he was on the broom his robes billowing as he pressed into his broom zooming towards the goals, the quaffle in hand.

"Potter, duck!" Sirius shouted from somewhere close. Following his friends orders without a moment's hesitation, it seemed a moment slower and he'd have had his head taken off by a bludger, as it tugged at the unkempt ends of his hair as it whooshed across just above his head. He exhaled heavily; you couldn't get more close than that. He would have shot Sirius a grin or a thumbs up, but he was flying too fast to slow and avert his concentration from the three hoops which were getting increasingly closer, as were the opposing players in yellow.

Swerving to avoid a Hufflepuff chaser, he was forced to drop to a lower level to avoid another, a shot would be difficult but he had to try.

"Goal! Goal by the captain James Potter! Ten points to Gryffindor, they now lead Hufflepuff 50 points to 20! The commentator roared, the few spectators clapped and cheered as James punched the air. Rank, in the seat next to the commentator, changed the scoreboard to reflect the latest development in the game and offered James a thumbs up which he returned by way of a nod of the head.

Gryffindor held the lead, but not by much, and the new Hufflepuff team were good, sharp and fast, their captain Amos Diggory had worked his team hard, very hard. The opposing beaters had been working in overdrive, both of James' fellow beaters had been knocked from their brooms, Daniel - a surprisingly quick second years and new addition to the team – had fallen clear of his broom but was caught by Jessica circling just below and Daisy – a fifth year, in her second season on the team – had fallen to the floor, splitting open an eyebrow and possibly breaking her nose but she carried on defiantly. James honestly didn't know how he hadn't fallen off himself! What the Gryffindor team really could do with right now was catching the snitch, before any more of his players got injured before the real matches even started!

"Silvers!" James motioned, the seeker, circling just overhead, dropped down to his level. Jessica herself had suffered a knock too, Dawson the Hufflepuff beater had knocked her clear off her broom but somewhat impossibly she'd managed to grab hold of her broom and cling on for dear life before scrambling back on. "You doing okay?" he asked, catching his breath.

"As good as I can be, no sign of the snitch though." She replied with a grimace, her eyes not stopping for a moment as they scanned the pitch for any glimpse of gold. "You'd have thought this was the Quidditch final with the way Hufflepuff are playing though, not a friendly game! They're bonkers!" she added, her eyes searching overhead. She then pressed into her broom and took at high speed towards the Gryffindor goals, inwardly screaming as she maintained her focus on the tiny flicker of gold just above the left goal post, her fellow chaser several broom lengths behind her but closing in.

"Catch it!" Amos screamed after his seeker, despite being several lengths behind his Gryffindor counterpart, he seemed determined to try and catch the snitch by any means necessary. Jessica broom wobbled oddly, daring to look behind her she met the eyes of her fellow seeker smirking at her attempting to pull her off course by pushing the tail of her broom. Returning to search for the snitch, it was further ahead than she had anticipated, trying to keep her flying steady and not flip her broom she pressed just slightly more and the tiny burst of speed she produced propelled her forward, just enough to close her fingers around the cold metal of the snitch.

The Hufflepuff seeker it seemed, hadn't realised Jessica had caught the broom and this time had grabbed her broom by the tail and physically pulled her backwards.

"What the hell?!" Jessica demanded, pulling her broom to an abrupt halt. "What do you think you're playing at? I've already the caught the snitch, even cheating you weren't quick enough!" she seethed, her fingers dancing along the edge of her wand concealed within her robes.

"Now, now Jessica." Sirius mock chided pulling alongside her. "If he wants to play dirty, we'll show him how we do it." He added in an undertone, clapping the edge of his bat against the open palm of his hand. The opposing seeker gulped, and turned on his tail, re-joining the rest of his team who were hovering in mid-air to avoid the obvious rage of their captain.

"Would you really have hit him with your bat Sirius?" Jessica hissed once the other seeker was out the way. Sirius scoffed.

"Course not! But he doesn't need to know that." He replied with a wink, Jessica shook her head, before taking off towards James who was arguing with Diggory.

"That was well out of line Amos! That was blatant cheating! You could have injured my seeker!" Diggory didn't reply, the only noise was his breath through gritted teeth. "You do that to my team again and I'll make sure you never play a game of Quidditch ever again, got it?!" James threatened, how dare someone cheat like that, even in a match outside the house cup, it was disgusting, James had every mind to report him to Professor McGonagall and get him kicked off the team.

"We'll see about that Potter." Diggory spat, before gesturing for his team to follow as he stormed out across the pitch towards the changing rooms, probably to scream at his team.

Sirius added something which James didn't care to repeat as the Hufflepuff team rounded into their changing room, James couldn't help but agree.

On the whole, Lily wasn't overly used with Quidditch but the game had at least begun to change her mind. She was on the edge of her seat the entire time the balls were in the air, it didn't quite seem real, more like something she'd see in the cinema! Although the fast paced direction changes and swapping in and out of positions did make her feel slightly queasy, it also made her jealous, she wished she'd taken her first year flying lessons more seriously so she could zoom and swerve around in the air with her friends. Although, as a small eleven year old from a muggle household who had never even thought of riding a broom, it was understandable that she'd been reluctant to hover more than a foot from the ground.

"Coming Lils?" Hestia asked, offering Lily her hand. Nodding, Lily stood up and followed her friends from the quidditch stadium - thoroughly excited at the prospect of seeing another quidditch match again soon.

"It was a great catch though wasn't it? Even if I do say so myself." Jessica grinned, offering Sirius a wink, who just shook his head and continued with shovelling pie into his mouth.

"I can't believe you saw the pitch from that far away!" Frank added, suitably impressed.

"Well, what can I say? I'm a superhuman." Jessica teased, flicking her long braid over her shoulder dramatically, to which her friends laughed.

"You enjoy it? The game I mean." James asked Lily a few moments later, when comfortable silence had descended on the group as they ate.

"I did, it was great! I can't believe I've missed out on Quidditch all these years." Lily breathed with a shake of her head.

"I've converted you!" he replied triumphantly. Lily pouted to which James just laughed and ruffled her hair, much to her distaste. Alice grinned at the sight of them; they seemed so comfortable with each other already, natural, as if they'd been together forever.

"Look at you two whispering to each other, its- Jess you okay?" Alice started, but her attention was quickly diverted by the sight of her best friend's face. Jessica gaze was transfixed, at the lone owl which quickly descended upon the Gryffindor table.

"That's prince isn't it Jess, that's your owl?" Hestia asked confused.

"I thought they only brought post in the morning? Unless…" Sirius began, then a realisation struck him and he prayed he was wrong. The hall fell silent as the owl landed in front of Jessica, dropping a letter into her lap. Chancing a glance towards the top table, Lily noted that Dumbledore seemed to be in a sombre mood, his face was ashen and the usual glitter was devoid from his blue eyes.

"Hey boy, what's up?" Jessica's voice trembled as she ruffled the feathers on her owl's head, and it rubbed against her affectionately before taking flight ad heading back to the owlery. Her hands shaking, she slowly opened the envelope bearing the seal of the ministry of magic, the letter inside was printed on heavy parchment and hand written in black cursive ink.

James' arm went slack around Lily's shoulders, they both had a hunch what the letter said, but both hoped they were wrong.

It was then that Jessica's scream pierced the silent air. She dropped the paper as if it were alight and buried her face in her hands.

"No, no, no, they've got to be wrong." She repeated to herself.

"Miss Silvers, please come with me." Professor McGonagall soothed, appearing behind the seventh years, her voice unusually soft, her expression sympathetic. Students at other tables craned their necks to try and catch a glimpse of the letter as the deputy headmistress lead their friend away from the public forum of the Great hall, her arm protectively draped across the taller girl's back.

Sirius snatched up the letter before the prying eyes of the next table along could view its contents. Hushed whispers began to break out across the hall as his eyes scanned the paper, his face paling a shade at every line. He opened his mouth to speak but didn't seem to be able to find the words. Before any of the other seventh years could read the contents of the letter, Professor Dumbledore cut in above the noise.

"Students!" He addressed, and the student body fell silent. "There has been an attack in the North East tonight." There was a sharp intake of breath from the Gryffindor table as they began to piece together what must have occurred.

"I'm going to be sick." Hestia struggled, covering her face with her hands.

"Many people have been injured and one of our own has suffered a loss. I ask you to respect her privacy, and cherish those around you while you still can. However, I can assure you, you will always be safe here at Hogwarts. Now, I do believe this would be the time to return to your dormitories."


	16. Letters

Chapter 16 – letters

_**Recap: Gryffindor play a practice friendly game against Hufflepuff who try to chat and stop Jessica catching the snitch which enrages the rest of the team. Although, jess does catch the snitch and Gryffindor win. Jessica receives a letter containing news of a death eater attack and how it affects her family. **_

The weeks had passed by in a blink of an eye and Halloween soon loomed. Lily had always hated Halloween, ever since she was tiny, she'd refused to go out with the other children and ask the neighbours for sweets, or bob for apples, which made the news that Lily was in fact a with, highly amusing to her parents. Maybe she was dreading it more so this year due to the sombre mood which had overwhelmed the entire school; more letters like Jessica's had arrived, confirming the deaths of more family members like that of Jessica's father, and still with no news of the whereabouts of her friends mother, it was enough to dampen the spirits of anybody.

As the 31st rolled in, unable to sleep, Lily tiptoed from her dormitory, her satchel in hand and settled in front of the dimming common room fire. Sitting in silence, she produced a quill and parchment, flipped open a transfiguration book and began to make notes and plan her homework essay due the following week – if she couldn't sleep, she might as well be productive.

She'd barely written a word when a knocking at the window distracted her. Looking up, she could just about make out the outline of a dark coloured owl, its bright eyes staring back at her. It wasn't an owl she recognised, it didn't belong to any of her friends, or the school, she'd have liked to thinks he'd remember such a splendid specimen, feathers the colour of coal and eyes like liquid amber. She hesitated before opening the window, and the owl rapped on the pane of glass with its beak impatiently. Yes, she'd have definitely remembered a splendid owl with a bad attitude! This was definitely not one she had seen before. Throwing caution to the wind, she opened the window and allowed the owl to perch on the sill as she untied the letter attached to its ankle, and with a peck at her fingers, it flew off into the night, leaving Lily as puzzled as before.

She was surprised to see the letter was addressed to her, although as with the owl, she didn't recognise the handwriting. Her name was scrawled across the front in slanted black handwriting; although by the style she could tell it was from somebody aristocratic, the thought made her more curious than before, who could be writing to her?

Suddenly panicking it could be letter from the ministry, she flipped it over and was met not with the seal of the ministry, or that of the school but a seal of deep green bearing an indentation of a snake rearing high as if ready to strike, as everything else, the seal was unfamiliar. Tearing open the yellowing envelope, her eyes began to scan the parchment inside.

'_Miss Evans, _

_ I shall not bother to introduce myself, however I do believe you are aware of the man I work for, and he is most interested in you. Your skills and accomplishments have not gone unnoticed within our circle. We believe we could put your talents to use in ways which you have never imagined. Join our cause and you will be rewarded greatly.'_

There was no signature, only another imprint of a snake, only this time it was protruding from the mouth of a bare skull…

She knew who the letter was from and the thought made her feel thoroughly nauseous. She didn't know what to think, he wanted her to join his 'cause', she'd been headhunted. She'd been scouted by the death eaters. Dropping back down into her seat, she sat in silence, the thudding inside her chest was deafening. Knowing she couldn't sit there any longer she wrapped her dressing gown tighter around herself and tucked her wand into one of the pockets, she stood abruptly and exited the common room – much to the disgust of the fat lady who tutted unapprovingly as the Head Girl exited the common room after curfew.

As her bare feet slapping at the cold flagstones, she knew where she had to go, she knew the man she had to see, she just prayed he'd still be awake.

"Professor Dumbledore!" Lily shouted, running up the stairs towards his office, her small feet pounding the stone steps. Storming through the door, she was taken aback to be faced by the man himself, complete in velvet robes the colour of the sky on a clear day, complete with his signature half moon glasses … and James.

"Lily?" James questioned looking aghast. Worry and curiosity etched across his face. Purple bags hung under his eyes; clearly he hadn't had much sleep either, then he noticed the letter clutched between her small hands. "You too?" she nodded, her hearts till hammering in her chest. It seemed she wasn't the only one on the death eaters radar. Professor Dumbledore fixed her with a gaze that she didn't quite understand but gladly took a seat when he offered; she was pleased to get off her feet, unsure of how much longer her trembling legs would have managed to hold out.

"I suppose you understand who these letters are from?" the headmaster asked after a moment's silence, peering the Head Boy and Girl over the top of his half-moon spectacles.

"Course we do! And we'll never join him Professor! Will we Lily?!" James replied his voice louder than he anticipated. He hung his head into his chest and mumbled an apology which the professor acknowledged with a wave of his hand. The Professor understood, the times were uncertain and frightening, without receiving recruiting letters from the deatheaters themselves.

"Of course we won't James." Lily soothed, stroking her fingers cross James' knee, to which he sent her a silent thank you.

"Then we must prepare adequate protection for the both of you, I don't believe Voldemort will take gladly to the both of you ignoring his summons. You will be safe whilst you are at Hogwarts, but I will arrange to have protections to be placed around your parents. Although I believe the Potter house is already adequately protected?" the headmaster asked, directing his question towards James, who nodded.

"But my parents are muggles sir!" Lily interrupted, feeling the panic rise in her throat.

"I will make sure they are none the wiser Miss Evans, but I will ensure their safety as far as I can." He replied, and Lily relaxed a fraction, she hadn't even thought about the repercussions of her decision on her friends or family members.

"You don't think they'd go after our parents do you Professor?" James asked quietly, the headmaster shook his head.

"I do not know how they will react, but we must prepare for every possibility." He nodded and Lily believed him, Dumbledore would protect her parents so far as he could and that was as much as she could ask for. The panic had worn off and she was left with a numbness that spread through her body like a tidal wave.

"Mr Potter?" the headmaster asked, "I do believe you should take Miss Evans to the kitchens and get her something to eat, she looks rather pale. I then suggest you both head back to bed and try to get as much sleep as you can. Doris will accompany you." And with a click of his fingers a small but portly house elf appeared, who with a friendly smile held out her hand and lead James and Lily towards the kitchens.

"Goodnight Professor." Lily added just as they were leaving.

"And to you Miss Evans, the headmaster replied.

As they left the kitchens a short while after and headed back towards Gryffindor Tower, James stopped and pulled Lily close into him, wrapping his arms around her and inhaling the scent of her shampoo as she buried her head into his shoulder. In James' arms she instantly felt more reassured than before, with Dumbledore there and James by her side she knew she'd be safe, it was life after their graduation which scared her more than she dared to admit….

"You alright?" he asked, stroking her hair lightly, she exhaled and nodded. It would take time for the events of tonight to sink in, but for the moment she seemed to be dealing with the situation, and that was all the mattered right now. "Sure?" James added and she nodded again. She pulled away, entwining her hand with his, a small smile stretching across her lips.

"Come on, let's go back to bed." She suggested and he didn't complain as she led him back towards their common room.

Lily had stayed in James' room with him, not wanting sleep alone, but they were woken early, by a commotion in the common room below. The clock read barely half past seven on a Saturday morning, yet a majority of the older Gryffindors were wide awake, pyjama clad in the common room huddled around a single copy of the Daily Prophet. As James and Lily joined the group in front of the fire, she knew something was wrong, James took the paper from Remus and Lily read over his shoulder and her heart dropped.

_**DEATHEATERS ATTACK HOGSMEADE!**_

_**The wizarding world is in mourning this morning after the town of Hogsmeade was attacked last night by a group of masked individuals. Seven unidentified persons terrorised villagers and burnt down buildings; so far three deaths of local witches or wizards have been confirmed, all of whom are of muggle descent, and there are fourteen casualties in total. **_

_**It has also been verified that the Cruiciatus curse was used on more than one occasion; one recipitant of the curse is not expected to never recover. **_

_**A squadron of Aurors were dispatched as soon as the alarm was raised at 3:26 AM, and a further 6 ministry officials only moments after that. **_

_**It has been confirmed that two Aurors have lost their lives; they have been formally identified this morning as Tony and Denise Smith. The married couple who had been aurors for the last 23 years, and due to retire in only a matter of months. The pair were over powered during a firestorm which over took the building they had been helping locals escape from.**_

_**The only assailant who has been identified is that of the newly married Bellatrix Lestrange, from the prestigious house of Black, who removed her mask to taunt the rescuers before setting a number of houses on fire. **_

Lily knew she could read no more; it was bad enough that two Aurors had been killed just minutes from the school, but it was Sirius' own flesh and blood that had been the driving force behind the whole attack. She couldn't fathom what must have been going through his head at the moment, although he was estranged from his family, disowned, it must have hurt. She wanted to comfort him but she truly had no idea where to start.

Sirius was pale and silent, Hestia sat next to him, her arm around his shoulder and Remus on the other side, his hand resting on Sirius' arm, but the man himself seemed oblivious to the chaos happening around him. The other students were talking between themselves, all worrying about the safety of the castle and concluding all Hogsmeade trips for the year would definitely be cancelled. Sirius' vacant expression remained, even when Hestia said his name and squeezed his hand.

As he finished the full article, James let the paper drop the floor and enveloped his friend in a hug, finally snapping Sirius back to life as he buried his head into James chest.

Lily looked away, her eyes drawn to the paper that was now discarded on the floor. Even from this angle, the smirking face of Bellatrix LeStrange could be seen, cackling and taunting whoever was taking the photo before twirling around her wand shooting sparks high into the air.

"I knew it, I just knew it, she's always been deranged but…" Sirius finally spoke quietly as James held him.

Jessica sat away from the group, the memory of her father's death brought back to the surface, engulfing her in a fresh wave of grief. She had begun to piece her life back together, a life without her parents but she struggled to move on when virtually every day another owl would arrive bearing the bad news for another student forcing her to relive the ordeal on an almost daily basis. It was cruel she knew, but every single time a ministry owl arrived in the Great Hall, Jessica prayed it would be for someone else, she just couldn't bear to hear any more bad news, she didn't think she'd be able to cope if anything happened to her brothers, they were all she had left. Although her hope wracked her with guilt as another student received the news of a death, she couldn't help holding her breath and hope the envelope bore some else's name. She daren't even think about the small hope her mother would be found alive, they had never been able to recover her body but Jessica had to tell herself her mother had died alongside her father, she knew living in help would just kill her. Consumed by memories, she wasn't aware that another person had joined her away from the group, Remus Lupin squeezed her arm gently and she jumped at the sudden cold of his touch. She offered him a small smile but returned her gaze to her lap, as much as she appreciated Remus' efforts, she just wasn't in the mood to talk right now, instead preferring to sit in silence…

The world outside Hogwarts was descending into chaos, their society beginning to unravel as people began to choose sides and prepare themselves for the worst; the Head Boy and Girl had been recruited to join the deatheaters, attacks happened daily, wizards, muggles and creatures were dying every day and the Aurors were no closer to unmasking the culprits and top it all off, it was Halloween.

**AN: sorry it's been a while since I updated! I've had coursework deadlines for college and been really ill over the last two weeks so I haven't had time to write. Hopefully everything will get a bit brighter soon, it's all getting a bit dark and depressing! Thank you for reading, review? xxxx**


	17. Ignoring me?

**Author's note: I apologise for taking so long to update but I've just been so busy, so here's the next chapter **** it's short but I hope you like it xxx**

**PS just to clear up any confusion, Marlene McKinnon is the year above them – she's already left, I know there's not 8 years at Hogwarts! haha **

_**Recap: Lily is not a fan of Halloween and can't sleep as it draws in, she attempts to start a homework essay in the common room but is distracted by an owl with a letter for her, it is a recruitment letter on behalf of the deatheaters, she runs to Dumbledore's office where she is met by James who too has received one, they agree to ignore them and protections are placed on their families. Upon waking several hours later, they received the news there has been an attack in Hogsmeade and two Aurors have been killed, and it was Sirius' cousin who had lead the attack. **_

_**Chapter 17 – Ignoring me?**_

"So boys?" James questioned, rubbing his hands together. "What are we doing to celebrate Halloween?!" the marauders were hauled up in their dormitory avoiding the commotion of the common room and the sombre mood that had settled amongst the girls. Frank Longbottom too had joined them and was idly throwing Bertie Botts every flavour beans at Peter who was attempting to catch them in his mouth.

"What do you mean?" Frank asked and Sirius smirked at his naivety.

"I think you know Longbottom." He grinned and Frank shook his head, secretly excited at having a hand in a marauders extravaganza.

"It needs to be good though, something everyone will remember!" James added.

"Nothing much then." Remus muttered, James was sure to come up with something amazing, but the strict time limit worried him, something was bound to go wrong!

"Good to see that badge hasn't corrupted your brain too much Prongs!" Sirius teased, ruffling James' hair.

"Corrupted me? You did that years ago mate." James winked, to which Sirius looked affronted and Frank laughed.

"Well, what do you have in mind James?" Peter asked, eager to get on with planning; after all, they didn't have long left if they wanted to make the feast tonight!

"I say we enchant the food to dance!" Sirius offered, but James shook his head.

"We did last Christmas in fifth year and got detention from McGonagall." He sighed, leaning back onto his pillows; he tried to wrack his brain to think of something.

"Well its Halloween," Peter began. "there's sure to be pumpkins everywhere, we could make them explode?" James mused over it for moment, that could work, he concluded.

"I think I know how we could do that." Remus added.

"I like it." James grinned.

"But after they explode, we should do something with them…" Sirius chipped in, rubbing his chin to try and gain inspiration.

"Fireworks?" James asked, but Sirius shook his head, they'd already done fireworks that year. Silence fell upon the group, until Frank had a suggestion.

"Have you tried changing the colour of something? Like people's robes, or their hair or something?" he offered eager to contribute.

"That could work." Remus replied, we'd just need to do a simple colour switching charm, but on a larger scale. It wouldn't need much preparation either." He added with a nod.

"Up top Longbottom!" Sirius called, out, high fiving his fellow Gryffindor who seemed quite pleased with his idea.

"So, the pumpkins explode everywhere and get everyone messy, then we make the lights go out -" James concluded.

"And when they come on again, the pumpkins have put themselves back together and everyone's robes have changed colour!" Remus finished, he was pretty satisfied with this plan, it would be memorable, it would make people smile, and probably wouldn't land them in detention!

"Sounds like a plan!" Sirius grinned, before handing out tasks to each boy, which spell they would research and perform so everything would go off without a hitch. James reached for his textbook from under his bed, and concluded that this would come at just the right time for the student body, the moral of the whole school was dangerously low and not just because of all the homework which the teachers piled on but the scary realisation of the true scale of the war that was raging on outside the castle walls. Death was now common place between the students and Madame Pomfrey had handed out so many dreamless sleep potions to students suffering nightmares she'd lost count, something was needed to cheer the students up – even if it was only for a few hours - it was very much needed right now.

"The boys have been dangerously quiet this afternoon…" Alice thought aloud. "Frank's disappeared as well, that doesn't bode too well!" she added as an afterthought, when the boys – Frank included – disappeared for several hours with no trace, it could only end one way, detention. The other three girls, draped across their beds, didn't seem fussed.

"It'll be something that'll get them detention, we're probably best not to know." Hestia replied, absently twirling a chocolate coloured curl around her finger before idly flicking the page of a battered copy of witch weekly that she wasn't really reading. Alice mused her friend was probably right and returned to the letter she'd been writing before and silence once again ensued, the only sound the vague remnants of chatter emanating from the common room and the scratching of Alice's quill on parchment.

A moment or two later, Jessica decided she'd had enough of silence, she'd heard too much of it lately, not just because people didn't quite know what to say to her since the death of her father, but because the whole school seemed to have gotten itself down and she was fed up of it. Yes she was still grieving, and she doubted she'd ever stop, yes her heart broke every single time her friends received a letter from home and she realised she'd never receive another one of those, but she was fed up of moping, and fed up of being fed up. This was their last year after all, and Jessica didn't want to spent the whole time sulking.

Her eyes flickered between her three friends, Alice still scratching away at her parchment and Hestia was looking vaguely at the old magazine, so her eyes settled on Lily, who was absently staring at the ceiling, uncharacteristically quiet. Jessica noted that she'd been quiet all day, since she'd explained after breakfast about the letter she'd received in the middle of the night and what it meant. Her friends had been terrified, that meant Voldemort knew about Lily – probably them too – meaning he had spies inside the castle walls… However, Lily had relayed that Dumbledore was doing everything he could to protect her parents and while she was still at school she had no reason to be worried, so Jessica decided she should be the first target.

This was where he plan fell down, she had no idea how to cheer up her friend… but luckily, Jessica was a specialist in managing her make her friends laugh, and an idea struck her. Grabbing the pillow from the bed she was sat on, Jessica – with no warning – threw it across the room hitting the redhead square in the face and almost causing her to fall of the bed in shock.

It was Alice who first reacted by bursting out into fits of giggles, Hestia looked up in confusion, but a grin began to spread across her face.

"What was that for?!" Lily spluttered, but the infectious nature of Alice's giggles spread and she too ended up laughing at herself. A sneaky smile crept across Jessica's face.

"I just thought we could do with a giggle!" she replied, Hestia shook her head but failed to subdue the grin which appeared. "We've all just been so down recently, I thought we needed cheering up – Hestia's all mopey over Sirius, again! You've been quiet all day after getting that letter and I'm just sick of being sad, I want us all to be happy again!" she added, hoping she had conveyed her message as well as she wanted to.

"So you decided hitting her in the face was the way to go about that?" Alice questioned. Jessica shrugged.

"I improvised; I couldn't remember the spell to turn Hestia's hair blue, so it had to do." She replied with a wink towards Hestia, who promptly turned pale and had rushed to the nearest mirror to check her long tresses were still chocolate and not a shade of turquoise!

As the girls fell into an animated conversation, Jessica concluded she'd done her job, now she just had to set about the rest of the school…

"Heyy you." James greeted, slotting into the seat next to Lily at the Gryffindor table in preparation for the oncoming Halloween feast, but Lily decided to have her own fun and ignored her boyfriend's voice, attempting to remain straight faced. She was obviously failing to subdue her smirk, as Sirius, who dropped into the seat opposite her was grinning. "Earth to Lily!" James added, waving his hand in front of her face to elicit a reaction.

"Excuse me Sirius, but could you pass me the salt?" She asked in as polite tone as she could muster and ignored James' interjection. As Sirius passed her what she'd requested, he chanced a look towards his friend who was sporting a very confused look, which thoroughly amused him.

"Lily?" James asked again, more and more confused as Lily shook the salt into her soup and passed it back to Sirius, who was grinning even wider. As she waved his hand in front of her face again and receiving no reaction, he offered Sirius glance, but his friend just shrugged and continued grinning like a Cheshire cat. "Are you ignoring me?" James asked a moment later in a slightly quieter tone.

"Like you've done to me all day." She replied coolly.

"I'm sorry Lily, I've just been with the boys and- " he only stopped when Lily grinned, and he offered her a quizzical look.

"I know." She replied with a wink. "I'm just winding you up." She grinned, leaning in and kissing her lightly on the cheek. He shook his head and laughed smally.

"Don't ever do that to me again, I was so confused!" he retorted, ruffling her hair, to which she pouted.

"Fine." She continued "Spoilt sport." She added under her breath, to which James gave her a light push, which she returned.

"Oi, you two!" Jessica interrupted, by launching a bread bun from further down the table, barely missing Lily's face.

"Do you have a thing about throwing things at me today?" the head girl questioned, shaking her head as Jess offered her an innocent grin.

"What?" Remus questioned as the girls exchanged giggles.

"Jessica decided we all needed cheering up this afternoon and thought the way to go about that was by launching a pillow at my face." Lily answered matter of factly. Sirius and Remus both turned to Jessica quizzically, to which she just shrugged.

"Well, I think we've got something planned that'll cheer everyone up." James added a moment later.

"Which would be?" Alice answered.

"You'll see." James replied, and the mischievous glint in his eyes told Alice that the boys would definitely be getting detention…

**AN: Thank you for reading, hope you liked it **** I'm on holiday from college at the moment so I'll try and get some more done, but I've got a lot of important exams coming up so it might be slow work, bear with me! Tried to make this chapter a little more up beat, it was all getting a bit heavy **** And before I forget, follow me on Twitter Pro_Flitwick :D thank you! Review? Pretty please? xxxx**


	18. Pumpkins

Chapter 18 – Pumpkins

_**Recap: the marauders decided they need to plan something to mark the Halloween feast and in turn cheer u a sombre Hogwarts population. Jessica decides although she's still heartbroken by her parents death she wants to be happy again and enjoy her final year so she sets about to cheer up her friends. **_

"Merlin's pants!" Hestia squealed as the pumpkin seated on the table in front of her exploded, spraying her and Sirius, who was sat next to her, in hundreds of pieces of detonated pumpkin flesh. The hall fell silent, turning round to stare, Hestia flushed maroon, thoroughly mortified as she attempted vainly to pull the orange stings from her curls but to no avail. Avoiding eye contact, she failed to notice frank tucking his wand into his sleeve and the enthusiastic grins that were sent his way by the other Marauders and the wicked grin that crossed Sirius' face, despite the dousing in pumpkin.

"Nice one Jones look lik- " Frank started, but was cut off by another explosion at the Slytherin table, Remus attempted to conceal his wand from sight, but Lily noticed, so this was what the boys had been doing all afternoon? Craning her neck, Lily managed to catch a glimpse of Avery and Mulciber covered in destroyed pumpkin, glaring at the Marauders who were snickering to themselves. Before anyone had a chance to blink, more explosions occurred, one at the Hufflepuff table, two at Ravenclaw, a moment of silence, then all hell broke loose.

Decorative pumpkins scattered around the wall, up and down the house tables began to detonate like orange bombs covering the hall in a stringy mess of pumpkin flesh and seeds, lodging in the clothes and hair – Lily was 99% sure she had a pumpkin seed stuck in her ear. Pandemonium ensued, some of the younger students, who had not had the joy of several years of marauders pranks, screamed, but on the whole, the students mostly burst out laughing, helping to pull pumpkin flesh from their friends robes, or laugh at the way the seeds landed in someone's hair. A vast majority of the students, perhaps maybe not the first years, had worked out who was behind the trick; it wasn't exactly difficult when a group of five boys were almost crying with laughter as Professor Dumbledore grinned away at Professor Slughorn pulling pumpkin seeds from his waistcoat pocket. Everywhere Lily looked, every person was covered head to toe in gooey pumpkin but it seemed the entire student population was grinning ear to ear, thankful for a reason to smile – even if it was due to a mischievous group of boys and a misguided idea that exploding pumpkins would not land tem in detention.

"Good Godric, it's all in my hair!" Jessica giggled, pulling strings of pumpkin from her blonde tresses.

"Mine too!" Remus added, long strings of pumpkin flesh hung from his hair almost like a very odd orange tassled hat, Jessica burst out into laughter and Alice wasn't far behind. It was nice to see Jessica smile again, Remus concluded, nothing had been quite the same since she had received the letter, she'd been quiet and withdrawn, it just wasn't right, it wasn't Jessica, but to see her smiling again was fantastic, and even if it was at his expense.

Sneaking a glance up towards the teachers table, James was pleased to see all the teachers laughing too _'Phew!'_ James thought, _'Fingers crossed for no detention!' _Professor Flitwick was laughing and pulling pumpkin from the hair of Professor Slughorn who was cackling too - although that be down to the shots of firewhiskey James had seen him down during the starter - and Albus Dumbledore remained seated in his chair, grinning like Cheshire cat despite the seeds and pumpkin pieces now covering his beard and face. Even Minerva McGonagall cracked a smile.

Once all the pumpkins had exploded (and everyone was covered head to toe in orange strings and seeds) chatter broke out in the hall, people pointed at their friends and laughed, pulled seeds out of their hair and generally smiled – it was almost like the horrors of the world outside no longer existed.

"Ready for the next bit boys?" James questioned, to which the reply was three heads nodding so much their heads were in danger of coming loose and rolling around the floor.

"Not more…." Hestia whined under her breath, she thought no-one had heard, but when she looked to her left, Alice gave her a sympathetic yet amused nod.

"Come on Hest its fun!" Alice grinned. Raising an eyebrow, Hestia pointed to the orange strings firmly stuck in her curls which would undoubtedly take hours to get out. "Point taken." Alice grinned and clapped her hands, waiting for whatever the boys had planned next.

Raising their wands high in the air and muttering incantations under their breath, the end of the marauders' wands began to glow with a bright white light. Slowly the whole hall began to go quiet and turned to stare at the four wizards. A second later, the lights cut out – pitch blackness fell on the hall. Screams and lots of them. But before Lily could get herself scared, or wonder what the hell was going on, the lights came back on. Astonished gasps filled the room as the students realised what had happened. The hall was spotlessly clean – the pumpkins were all intact and sitting in the middle of surgically clean house tables, free from any seeds or strings of orange flesh. But it wasn't the lack of pumpkin that caused the students to gasp, it was the colour of their robes; the Slytherin's robes had turned a starling shade of jade with a silver trim – much to the delight of their students. The Hufflepuff table were clothed in a sunshine yellow with black detail; Ravenclaw was cobalt blue with bronze decoration and Gryffindor? That was the most beautiful of all, a dazzling red, the colour of an ripe apple hanging from the tree in the orchard just waiting to be picked and the edges of their robes and the emblem of their house stuck on their chest pockets was a bright gold, shining in the dim candlelight.

"James, it's beautiful!" Lily gasped, examining her robes; the bright red shimmering at her touch. Throwing her arms around her boyfriend's neck, James grinned wildly, and kissed her pale cheek, pulling away Lily continued to grin.

"Well thank you my fair lady." James replied, taking Lily's hand and kissing it delicately, making her cheeks glow beetroot.

"Heyy you!" Sirius interrupted slapping James over the back of her head with the flat of his hand. Mouthing 'OW' James turned to face his friend, still keeping hold of Lily's hand. "Check out McGonagall!" Sirius continued, trying to withhold a laugh. Watching the teacher's table, the head of Gryffindor house was twirling round like a small child dressing up, swishing her ruby red robes around, much to the delight to Albus Dumbledore who laughed at the glee of his deputy head mistress, complete in matching red robes. Clapping his hands she continued to twirl around and admire the ruby red colour. Professor Panoma Sprout, the resident Herbology teacher and head of Hufflepuff house, grinned wildly as she inspected the bright yellow of her robes with her chubby fingers, fingering the black detail on the edge of her robes. Little Professor Flitwick jumped up and down in his seat at the excitement seeing himself and his whole house dressed in the same cobalt blue, the bronze edging glinting in the light as he moved, laughing at the reaction of the other teachers Lily had almost forgotten about Professor Dumbledore, that is until he raised an arm and the pupils began to quieten down.

"Well thank you boys," he began, but was interrupted by Sirius – he really was making a habit of this! Who climbed onto the table so he was above the rest of the student population, the other three boys followed suit.

"Brought to you by the Marauders! Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs!" his voice echoed across the whole hall, no need for a sonorous charm when Sirius was around, he was loud enough as it was! Whooping and cheering followed, even from the Slytherin table – they seemed pretty happy with their green robes.

"Like I was saying," Professor Dumbledore continued, once the cheering had died down! "Thank you boys – you've really brightened up Halloween, and Hogwarts really won't be the same without you! And I must say, I am rather fond of these red robes, I have to make it a permanent change!" giggles broke out within the pupils. "But anyway – on with the FEAST!"

Making their way back to their dormitory's after a night of gorging on the most delicious and succulent food imaginable the seventh year Gryffindor students, still clothed in their red robes, were full to bursting. Chatting as they walked down the dark corridors towards their common room.

"I'm so full I might burst!" Jessica whined "If you pushed me over, I might just roll back to the Gryffindor tower!" laughing out loud Frank Longbottom laughed so hard, Peter had to slap him over the back just to remind him to breathe.

"Honestly Jessica! What are you like?!" Alice teased, putting her arm round her friend's shoulders and giving her a quick squeeze. Shaking her head at her friends, Lily skipped forward towards Sirius and James who were walking ahead of her and pushed in between them, holding her arms round the both of their waists, beaming up at both of them.

"Well hello Lilykins!" Sirius joked.

"Don't call me that." Lily replied with a straight face.

"Why ever not Lilykins?!"

"Sirius stop it."

"Stop what Lilykins?!"

"Calling me that."

"I'm not calling you anything Lilykins? Prongs, your girlfriend are losing it!" Sirius joked.

"Don't be mean Padfoot." James replied, kissing Lily on the cheek.

"Thank you." Lily whispered into his ear, then she turned her head to face Sirius. "At least one of the Marauders is nice to me!" she teased, sticking her tongue out at him, she didn't care if it was childish, she was going to do it. Feigning shock Sirius opened his mouth to reply, but before any words could leave his mouth, Remus appeared next to them.

"What about me?! I'm always nice!"

"Sorry Remus – I forgot about you…" Lily trailed off, her cheeks burning. His mouth forming an O shape, he tried to act shocked.

"Well Lily I'm disappointed, I - I – I don't think I'll ever forgive you…"

"I'm sorry Reeeeeeeeemus!" Lily retorted, flinging herself towards him and wrapping her arms around his neck. Slightly taken aback, Remus took a second to realise what was going on, then hugged Lily back.

"Oh I forgive you now Lilykins." Remus joked. Pulling away sharply, Lily did not look pleased.

"I take it back, I don't like you either." She replied deadpan. Barking a laugh, Sirius high fived Remus, who was grinning madly at his own wit.

"Come on you lot, lets get inside before any of you kill each other." Hestia interrupted. Repeating the password to the common room the portrait hole swung open. Not even realising they'd arrived back at their common room, Lily was shocked, how had they walked that fast?! _'Time flies when you're having fun!' _ She thought, following her friends through the portrait hole.

"Come on, bedtime!" Alice shouted, clapping her hands together, and pushing Lily and Jessica up the stairs to their dormitory before they even had a chance to say their good nights. There were a few faint shouts of goodnight from the girls and then a door slam and silence. _'Alice must have chivvied them off to bed already!_' Hestia thought. Alice was rapidly turning into the 'mother hen' of the group, waking them up in the morning, sending them off to bed, reminding them to eat their breakfast and do their homework, smiling at the thought, Hestia had been so lost in thought, she hadn't realised three of the marauders had made their way up their staircase and off to bed, leaving just her and Sirius alone in the deserted common room.

"What's so funny Jones?" Sirius teased; bringing Hestia out of her thought. Realising she'd just been there smiling like a goon to herself, her cheeks blushed slightly, making Sirius smirk even more.

"Well…um… I should be off to bed… bye." Hestia stammered, trying to avoid Sirius' steely gaze. Making for the staircase, he blocked her path. "Excuse me Black." She asked, trying hard not to look into those big grey eyes.

"No." he replied flatly. "Come and sit with me for a second?" he asked. Giving in, she looked into his face, he didn't look like the joker she'd seen at the feast now, he looked serious. Serious Sirius – it was unheard of!

"Okay…" she replied quietly, allowing Sirius to take her hand and lead her over to one of the sofas in front of the fire which was almost out, only a few glowing embers remained.

"So…um, how are you?" Sirius stuttered, losing his nerve now Hestia was sat in front of him, her brown curls falling around her shoulders, the ruby red of her robes setting her blue eyes aglow. Sighing, she stood up and looked directly into his grey eyes.

"Black, what is this about? I don't have time for messing about tonight, I'm tired and I want to -"

"Please don't go…." Sirius pleaded; reaching for her hand he held it tight. The warmth of his hand felt comforting to her cold body; slowly she lowered herself back into the chair and stared up at the pools of liquid silver which were Sirius' eyes. Taking a gulp of air, he decided it was now or never.

"Hestia Jones, you are perfect… and I like you, really like you. You're all I've thought about since the summer…" he trailed off; he didn't know what else to say. Smiling, Hestia blushed slightly. Then a flicker of something crossed her face, worry?

"But what about Marlene?" she questioned lightly, she didn't want to ruin the moment, but she had to know. Looking like a dog with its tail in between its legs, Sirius looked guilty.

"She was nothing. She was just something to try and get you out of my head and well… it didn't work…" he spoke, his head in his chest, avoiding her gaze.

"Oh Sirius…" Hestia managed to stammer. Stroking his face, tears began to roll down her cheeks, but the smile removed to budge. Leaning his face close into hers, he inhaled the sweet smell of Hestia's perfume and the coconut smell of her hair. Wiping the tears from her face, he leant closer in and kissed her lips, his hand working its way through the masses of her hair. Sliding her arm round his neck she leant in deepening the kiss. Pulling away Sirius couldn't help but grin madly; Hestia too had the same ecstatic grin spreading across her face.

"You still tired?" Sirius teased, flicking her nose.

"Yes," she replied, and his face fell, she was going to leave him and go up to bed. "But, I would never be able to sleep now, and …I'd rather stay here with you." She continued, and the grin returned to his face.

"We could just stay here?" Sirius asked, pushing a strand of her hair behind her ear. Instantly she brought her hand up and removed the hair from behind her ear and smirked back at him.

"Sounds good to me." She smiled back. Curling up together on the sofa felt like the most natural thing to do. Leaning her body on top of his and resting her head onto his chest, she could feel his heart beat – just like hers it was beating so fast she couldn't count the beats. Wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close he kissed the top of her head. Pulling the throw from the back of the settee he settled it over the top of them and warmth spread through their bodies as the cold was shut up and their heat kept in. Stroking the soft curls of her hair, Sirius leant down and lifted her chin up so her eyes were looking directly into his.

"I love you Hestia Jones."

"I love you too Sirius Black."

Author's note: thank you for reading! I was going to leave getting Sirius and Hestia until Christmas but I couldn't resist! Hope you like it please review? And remember, follow me on Twitter Pro_Flitwick, thank you!


	19. Morning darling

Chapter 19 – Morning Darling

"Morning darling." James sang out as he entered the girl's dormitory. No reply. Only Lily was still in there, she was again refusing to get out of bed. Spying Lily's bed, he sauntered over. Pulling the curtain away from her bed, Lily opened one eye and stared frostily back at him, not happy at being woken up on a Saturday morning.

"I'm not getting up." She stated. "I'm staying in bed all day." Pulling the covers over her head, she tried to block the out the sunlight streaming in through the now open curtains surrounding her bed.

"Lily, get out or I'll tickle you." James threatened, wiggling his fingers in a bid to scare her. Lily hated being tickled; it was the one thing she hated. Pulling the covers down from her face she scowled at James.

"You wouldn't dare."

"I would!" James replied, a mischievous glint in his eyes. Diving for Lily he wiggled his fingers, ready to tickle her. Realising what was about to happen, Lily rolled to avoid James' tickling fingers, however she misjudged her position in her bed and rolled straight off the edge onto the floor. Dangling his head off the edge of her bed, James couldn't help but laugh at Lily sprawled out on the floor where she'd just fallen.

"Oh yes, ha ha, laugh at me why don't you?" Lily chided, although a grin was beginning to tug at the corners of her mouth; it was something to do with James' laugh, it was infectious.

"Alright then, as long as you're alright with that!" James smirked back. Pulling herself up off the floor and stretching out her limbs, Lily felt more awake than she had done a few minutes previously; maybe it had something to do with hitting the floor with a thump, _'Hmm probably!' _She concluded.

"Your hair looks funny in a morning." James giggled, gesturing at Lily's hair. _'Okay I know I had my hair plaited yesterday but it's not that bad is it?' _catching a glimpse of her reflection in Hestia's bed side mirror, Lily saw what James was talking about; her hair was a frizzy mess. Grimacing at her reflection she completely understood _'and he still loves me after seeing my hair like this? He's a keeper!' _Lily thought.

"Right, well wait outside so I can get dressed please." Lily ordered, pointing her finger at the door. Rolling his eyes James exited the door and clicked it shut behind him. Finding the first pair of clothes that she could find, a pair of plain light denim jeans and white jumper (perfect for the cold weather!), she pulled them on.

"Done yet?" James called from outside the door.

"Done!" Lily shouted back, feeling pleased at how quickly she'd managed to get dressed so quickly. Pulling on a pair of dark grey ankle boots and woolly socks, Lily wiggled her tops at the sudden blanket of warmth now surrounding her feet which she hadn't realised were incredibly cold. Swaggering round back round the door to Lily's bedroom, James was just in time to see Lily pull her hair up into a loose bun, which would keep her hair out of her face and hopefully hide the frizziness. "How did you even get up here?" Lily asked, after fixing James with a puzzled look. "The staircase is enchanted, if a boy steps on it, it turns into a slide that you can't get up."

"Sirius found out last year that if you come up on a broomstick it doesn't catch you." He replied matter of factly; Lily grinned and nodded her head. _'It would have to be Sirius!'_ she thought. "Right, now let's get off to breakfast!" James chivvied, clapping his hands and pointing towards the door, which once swung open showed James' racing broom resting against the wall opposite the door.

"One thing..." Lily replied, not in the least bit fazed that Sirius had found out how to overcome their trick staircase, it was only a matter of time until he managed to crack its secret. James nodded as Lily grabbed a pencil from her bed side table and placed it delicately behind her ear. "That wasn't it by the way." Lily giggled. Looking confused, James wasn't prepared for what came next.

"Err Lily? What are you doing?"

"Hush – I've wanted to do this for ages!"

It was true -she'd wanted to ruffle his already unruly hair even since she'd first met him. Dragging her fingers through the masses of soft black hair, she stuck her tongue out the corner of her mouth in concentration. Once Lily was finished ruffling and messing up James' hair, she stood back to admire the damage, it didn't look any different at all, much to her disappointment _'Guess I couldn't mess it up any more…_' she pondered.

"Right now I'm done." She grinned. "Off to breakfast we go!"

Breakfast eaten and bellies full the group of seventh year Gryffindor students made their way outside into the cold autumn air. Settling down beside the large oak tree by the lake, they all slumped down to the floor, coats wrapped tightly around them; glad Halloween and its pranks were over.

"My back…" Sirius moaned, as he stretched and massaged his aching back before leaning against the bark of the tree. Flicking his hair out of his face, he looked towards James who just smirked.

"Well what do you expect for sleeping on the couch in the common room?" James teased. Blushing, Sirius avoided James' cackles as they rest of the group looked on astonished.

"Hey, Hestia slept in the common room last night too!" Alice naively declared, not making the connection. Cheeks glowing beetroot Hestia really wished her friend would keep her mouth shut.

"So you slept together in the common room last night?" Remus questioned, a smirk forming on his cracked lips. The full moon was tomorrow night and he was beginning to feel its familiar pull; the aching at the back of his skull, his limbs stiffening, and the pains in his eyes and ears, although tormenting Sirius allowed him temporary reprieve as he forgot all about his sore body and focused on teasing his friend.

"Well yes…" Sirius started, to which he was greeted by immature giggles from the girls and Peter. "Not like that!" Sirius corrected, his cheeks flushing pink. Pushing his black hair from his face, his steely coloured eyes were once visible again, and they were screaming out in embarrassment.

"No, you ended up snogging in the common room and then fell asleep on the sofas." James put bluntly. Hanging her head in embarrassment, Hestia just wished the ground would swallow her up so she could avoid all the smirking grins of her friends.

"So you're going out now then?" Alice asked innocently.

"Yes Alice." Jessica spoke slowly. "Special child." She added under her breath; however everyone seemed to have heard, well all except Alice who was far too busy watching the pathway down to their tree in horror.

"Holy Hippogriff! It's Frank! Quick hide me!" She gasped, as she dived for the space behind Sirius where she could hide around the tree. Sighing, Lily rolled her eyes and marched round to Alice's hiding place and took hold of her hand tightly.

"You are going to talk to him whether you like it or not Alice Prewitt!" she spoke through gritted teeth. Turning back to Jessica, who was grinning wildly, Lily nodded.

"Yoo Hoo Frank!" Jessica shouted, waving her hands madly in an attempt to catch his attention.

"Jess what the Merlin's name are you doing?" Alice hissed, taking a look round the edge of the tree to see her friend's mad waving.

"I'm getting Frank's attention!" she grinned back. "Ooh look, he's coming over!" Jess clapped her hands in excitement.

"Sink or swim." Lily said, crouching down so she was on eye level with Alice. "Talk to him." She smiled, trying to fill her friend with the optimism she was feeling. It however didn't look to be working as Alice looked like she might be sick.

"Heyy mate." James said slapping Frank on the back. Nodding a greeting, he was greeted by Remus who smiled and Sirius who nodded sincerely, his arms still around Hestia. Looking around the group, scanning faces, he looked dejected to not see one particular girl.

"Alice not here?" Frank asked, trying to play it cool, although cool wasn't Frank's style, everyone saw straight through him; plus the little grin that appeared when he said her name was a dead give away.

"Here." Alice replied sheepishly from behind Sirius' shoulder. Nodding at her friend, Jess gave Lily a thumbs up.

"So far so good." Jess mouthed with a wink. Lily raised an eyebrow and grinned.

"Nothing's happened yet!" She mouthed back.

"So!" Jess mimed, shrugging her shoulders with a grin.

By the time their mouthed conversation had finished, they'd missed all the action and looked on confused as Alice linked arms with Frank and made their way back to the castle, looking thoroughly happy. Once the pair were thoroughly out of ear shot, Jessica and Lily looked at each other massively confused.

"What did we miss?" they chimed in unison.

"Frank asked Alice if she wanted to go for a walk and she accepted." Hestia smiled, leaning her head down onto Sirius's chest.

"I can't believe we missed it!" Jessica whined, holding her hands on her temples and shaking her head.

"I know!" Lily replied. "Why didn't you nudge me or something?" she questioned turning to James, who was smirking at Remus and laughing slightly.

"Well….um… you and jess were in deep conversation – I didn't want to disturb." He replied sarcastically after a few moments of fumbling with his words. Raising both eyebrows Lily was not convinced and crossed her arms in front of chest defensively.

"Oh come on Lils." James replied, wrapping his arm round her shoulders and giving her a squeeze. Relaxing at his touch, she wrapped her arms round his waist and smiled up at him.

"Oh okay then…" she trailed off with a smile.

The conversation with the seven remaining students was varied, ranging from their upcoming NEWT exams and shows of their best magic – James' patronus was the main show piece – to who they thought would win the house cup this year, jobs they wanted in the future and finally onto the subject everyone was dying to talk about but daren't not mention, Death eaters…

"Delusional, that's what they are!" James ranted. "Delusional! They think they're going to win over Albus Dumbledore? They're just plain crazy!" sitting on the cold ground, James threw his arms out for dramatic effect. Suddenly going quiet, Sirius no longer seemed interested in the conversation, preferring to pull blades of grass out of the ground until there was a bald patch of earth in front of him. Picking up on his discomfort, Hestia softly stroked his knee in a circular motion. Feeling her touch, Sirius looked up, his eyes brimming with tears.

"You alright Sirius?" Lily asked gently after seeing the look he'd just given her friend – he looked heartbroken. Wondering what could have made him so upset she had no idea.

"Pads?" Remus questioned, too picking up on the change in atmosphere, everyone seemed to have picked up on it, bar James who continued ranting.

"I mean with all their blood purity rubbish, they're embarrassing themselves and when the aurors crush their little plans they'll look pretty stu-" he might have continued ranting all night if he'd been allowed, but was cut off by Lily.

"Put a sock in it James." She interrupted sharply. Looking back utterly confused and slightly hurt, James stopped mid sentence, not quite knowing what to do, however all eyes weren't on him, they were on Sirius, who now had tears rolling down his lightly tanned cheeks. "Cant you see your best friend is upset?" Lily demanded, she wasn't sure why, but James' rantings, however true, felt wrong to be saying in front of Sirius – a small voice at the back of her head was telling her something was wrong. That was when she had the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"Sirius, tell us…" she soothed, leaning in and placing her hand delicately on his other knee. Giving Hestia's hand a squeeze, Sirius looked up directly staring into Lily's beautiful green eyes.

"It's Reg… he… he..." Sirius stammered, unable to form the words into a sentence.

"It's okay." Hestia comforted, rubbing her thumb across his knuckles and she squeezed his hand reassuringly. She looked completely calm, _'she must know what's going on…'_ Lily concluded.

"He joined up… the Death eaters. Snivellus too."

Taken aback Lily felt sick. Her head spinning, she felt the vomit rise in her throat but swallowed it before she could come to a head. Severus? Her Sev? Her childhood friend? A Death eater, surely not, Sirius must be mistaken?

"Ar-r-r-re you sure?" She stammered. Nodding his head, fresh tears emptying themselves down his cheeks.

"Yes, Snivelly told me himself."

Leaning back, James couldn't believe how stupid he'd been. There he was ranting on about Death eaters and Sirius' brother had gone and joined them… feeling like the worst friend in the world, he looked his Sirius straight in the face.

"I'm sorry Sirius, I truly am."

Managing a weak smile, Sirius attempted a small laugh.

"It's alright Prongs – you didn't know, I should have told you. You too Moony, Wormtail." He added nodded at his friends when he said their name. Nodding back, Remus muttered something under his breath about it being ok and understanding, Peter however just looked like he'd burst into any tears at any second.

"How long have you known?" Jessica asked, wanting to know details but not wanting to aggravate the situation.

"Since near the beginning the term." Sirius admitted.

That was the final straw for Lily; she couldn't bear to hear any more. It wasn't Regulus, no matter how upset she was for Sirius, she didn't know the quiet Slytherin boy, Severus however, the thought made her physically want to vomit. She may hate the boy for what he did to herself and to James but she couldn't forget that they used to be best friends – it was hard to forget something like that, and believe me, she'd tried.

"Lily are you alright?" James asked, looking into her face. Placing his hand on her forehead, he looked worried. "You're freezing! Here take my jacket." He added, taking the tight black leather jacket of his shoulders and wrapping it around her small body.

"I'm sorry I need to go." She said flatly standing up, keeping the leather jacket wrapped around her shoulders. Before anyone could question why or try to stop her, she ran towards the castle, trying to reach the open doors before the tears exploded from her eyes. Making to stand up and follow her James began to stand.

"Stop!" Hestia demanded, making James freeze mid way through standing. "Don't go after her…" looking confused, James' confusion then turned to irritation.

"Why should I do that? She's my girlfriend, I want to be there for her." James replied bitterly.

"Well I'm her best friend and I know her better than anyone, and what she needs right now is space, space and time, let her be alone and she'll come to us when she'd ready." Hestia replied matter of factly. Knowing she was right, James sat down again, only to be comforted by a reassuring pat on the shoulder and a sympathetic glance from Peter.

Stumbling along the corridors, Lily couldn't make sense of what she'd heard. The thought wouldn't sit in her brain, like a badly told story. Luckily due to it being early afternoon the hallways were virtually deserted with students wanting to enjoy their Saturday. Not quite knowing where her feet were carrying her, she didn't realise what was happening until she got there.

The library was empty bar the librarian, Madame Pince, and a greasy haired boy sat in between the two shelves of potions textbooks, virtually hidden from sight by the angle of the shelves.

"Snape." Lily spat. Tears streaming down her face. Looking up, Severus Snape was surprised to see Lily Evans standing there in front of him, tear stained cheeks and all. At seeing her obvious distress his first instinct was to jump up and embrace her, tell her whatever that slime ball Potter had done, he'd pay for it and if he'd laid a finger on her, he wouldn't live to see the next day. Instead he fought the urge and stood slowly, taking a step towards her.

"What's Potter done to you? I'll make him pay." Snape demanded to know, rage boiling inside his head.

"Potter?" Lily laughed. "You think this is about James?" and this time she threw her head back and cackled, luckily madam Pince had her head buried in paperwork or Lily would have most likely been thrown out for making too much noise. Composing herself she fixed Severus a look of pure disgust. "Its you, you… you…" she spat, not finding an insult bad enough for how she felt about him at that moment.

"Me? What did I do?" Snape defended, not knowing what Lily was talking about.

"You joined them, didn't you? The Death eaters." Lowering his gaze and remaining silent, Snape gave her his answer, and all without saying a word.

"You disgust me. You make me sick." And with that, she was gone, leaving him standing there on his own, feeling like the life had been sucked out from him, like he'd been kissed by a dementor he was in danger of collapsing to the floor. Leaning onto the bookshelf to stop himself from collapsing, he found his steadied himself and scrambled from the space in-between the bookshelves and out of the library in a weak attempt to follow her. Although when he arrived at the entrance from the library, Lily was gone, no trace of her remained. He tried to convince himself it was all a bad dream, that he'd fallen asleep in the library and this was all a figment of his imagination, although the aching feeling in his chest told him he was mistaken. Returning to his hideaway between the masses of books, Severus sat and stared at the ceiling. _'Where did it all go wrong?'_ he asked himself, not daring to think of the answer.

Throwing open the door to her dormitory, Lily tore across the room and flung herself onto her bed. Burying her face into her pillow she sobbed, noisy sobs filled with pain. Sobbing so hard she didn't hear the door creak open and notice James and Hestia enter.

"Lily…" Hestia spoke softly. Looking up from the pillow, the red head was pleased to see her two favourite people in the world, the only light in her current dark place. "Oh come here!" Hestia comforted, taking Lily into a hug. Inhaling the familiar smell of Hestia's perfume, Lily calmed down slightly. "You silly girl!" Hestia joked, yet Lily could hear her voice breaking too. It was hard to believe but Hestia had been friends with Severus too, not as close as Lily, but she got on with him well, this was hard for her too. James, feeling slightly awkward witnessing this obviously very emotional best friend moment looked around the room, before this morning he'd never been in here before and now he'd been in twice in one day, for some reason the thought made him smile. Pulling out of the hug with Hestia, Lily wiped her tears, and realised she was still wearing James' leather jacket, peeling the heavy fabric from her body; she looked towards James and grinned.

"I think this is yours." She smiled through the tears.

"No, I think it's yours." He grinned, moving closer to her. Settling on the edge of her bed, she gestured for him to come closer and she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek.

"I'll never hurt you the way he did Lily." He whispered into her ear, kissing the edge of her face. Smiling, Lily felt like Severus was just a distant memory. She had no need to cling onto those memories of their friendship anymore; she had better ones, ones like this, wrapped up with James. Not even knowing why she got upset anymore, the tears stopped falling and she tried her face on her sleeve cuff.

"Come on." James grinned leaning back onto Lily's pillows, holding his arms wide open. Rolling her eyes and smiling, she leant back, placing her head on James' muscular chest. Closing her eyes, she stretched out her legs, until her toes touched the wooden board at the end of the bed, James' long legs hanging over the end. Feeling safe snuggled up with James, she allowed her body to relax and breathing deeply Lily felt herself drift off to sleep, despite it only being 1 in the afternoon she was emotionally exhausted.

Smiling, Hestia stood up and made to leave the room, as James kissed Lily's forehead and rested his head on hers. Glancing back at Lily, Hestia noted how peaceful she looked; seeing Lily upset broke her heart, and she was happy now the sobbing had come to an end.

"Heyy is Lily okay?" Jessica asked, exploding through the doorway, her voice almost at a shout. Giving a friend a deathly glare, Hestia pointed to where Lily was laying asleep with James, who grinned slightly at seeing Jessica's embarrassment.

"Sorry!" she whispered, glowing beetroot. "Um…I'm just gonna go…" she added, gesturing at the open doorway behind her.

"That's a good idea Jess." Hestia added, hands on her hips. "I'll make sure you're not disturbed again, see you later James."

"See you." He replied, raising one hand. Hearing the door click behind Hestia, he knew they were alone. Stroking Lily's soft hair, he couldn't help but smile, seeing her laid there, she looked perfect. Grinning to himself, he lowered himself down to her ear and whispered which made Lily smile in her sleep.

"I love you Lily Evans."

**Authors note: hope you liked this chapter, a few more cute Lily and James moments and I know I've updated like 3 times this week but I'm afraid this is the last week of my holidays so I'll be slower to update now :/ I've got a few bits already written and planned out though so hopefully I'll be able to update a bit quicker than I had been before this week Plus, I've started writing a fan fiction about Teddy Lupin and his final year at Hogwarts, would you like me to put it up? Anyway thank you for reading and please review!**


	20. Stag

Chapter 20: Stag

"W-w-what time is it?" Lily stammered into the darkness.

"Midnight." James replied, loosening one arm from around her and stretching it above his head. Bringing his arm back down, he wrapped it back around Lily's small shoulders, who was still curled up in a ball beside him.

"You mean, I slept _all_ afternoon?" she questioned, not able to process how she'd managed to sleep all this time – then she remembered what earlier that day had brought and it all came flooding back, a cascade of emotion pouring through the emptiness of her head, although this time there were no tears, no ranting, just the realisation that Severus didn't need to be part of her life anymore; she had someone better, someone who really cared for her, someone who was curled up next to her protecting her from the cruelty of the outside world.

"Yeah…" James trailed off, shaking his head, not quite believing it himself.

"Did you sleep too?" Lily whispered realising her friends were all snoring softly in their beds around her. Hestia's duvet cover moved up and downs lightly as she breathed, Alice twitched slightly in her sleep, 'Wonders what she's dreaming about?' Lily pondered. Rolling over to face Lily, Jessica smiled in her sleep, which made James and Lily smile too.

"A bit, I was watching you sleep, you look make this weird face – you look like a little squirrel – it was cute, it amused me." James replied smirking and nuzzling Lily's nose and planting a feather light kiss on her temple. Not quite knowing whether to kiss or slap James, she just laughed lightly and shook her head.

"Well, what do you want to do? I'm not tired anymore…" Lily asked, but instantly regretted it seeing the suggestive smirk on James' face. "I didn't mean that!" She squeaked, feeling her cheeks flush scarlet.

"I didn't think you did, oh well it was worth a try!" he chuckled. "Anyway, I know something better!" he added sliding off the edge of the bed as quietly as he could and gesturing for Lily to follow as he slipped silently across the floorboards and out the door. Quickly scanning the room to check all her friends were still asleep; Lily pulled herself off her bed, trying and tip toed across her room, trying to avoid the squeaky floorboards. Smiling to herself at her quietness she didn't see the bump on the floor...

"HELLO IM YOUR TEDDY BEAR!" it sang out into the silence as Lily's foot connected with its stomach – which must have held a sound box. It was Alice's teddy bear, the one she'd been given by her grandparents when she started Hogwarts, it was her favourite thing in the world, but it must have fallen off her bed and onto the floor. Looking around the room in panic, Lily breathed a sigh of relief - she'd gotten away with it. Bending down and picking up the teddy, she delicately placed it on the bed next to Alice's face, who mumbled in her sleep and pulled the soft toy closer to her body, smiling in her sleep.

Lily smiled and took a step forwards, eager to get out of the room. But in her haste she'd forgotten about the squeaky floorboards. Realising her mistake as soon as her foot connected with the varnished wood, she winced.

"Huh?" Hestia mumbled, lifting her head off her pillow and sleepily rubbing her eyes, looking for the source of the noise.

"Err…. I'm a ghost…" Lily replied, saying it the first thing that came into her head.

"You don't look like a ghost." Hestia pointed out yawning and squinting her eyes into the darkness.

"Well, I am! Now go to sleep before I haunt you…" Lily added in a last ditch attempt to get Hestia back off to sleep before she slipped out.

"Okay." Hestia replied sleepily. Turning over and pulling the covers up over her head and began to snore loudly. Wiping her brow, Lily knew that had, had been close. Taking in a deep breath, she continued across her room, avoiding the rest of the squeaky floorboards. Reaching the door, she let out a sigh of relief as her hand connected with the bronze handle. Slipping round the door, she made her way down the stairs, just like James had a minute previous.

"I'm your teddy bear?" James smirked once they were in the safety of the common room – at least here they could talk and not fear about waking anyone up. Looking sheepish, Lily shrugged weakly.

"It was Alice's teddy…"

"Aah… explains a lot." James smiled. Grabbing Lily's hand he dragged her over to the portrait hole and pushed it open.

"James what are you doing? We could get expelled for this! We're not supposed to be out after curfew!" Lily protested. Her record was spotless – the last thing she needed was an expulsion!

"Relax Lils." James soothed. "We're head boy and girl; we can be out as long as we want! And besides I have this!" pulling out what looked like a shimmery silver blanket from the inside of his robes, Lily was utterly confused, why had James brought a silver blanket with them? Throwing the shimmery fabric over the two of them, Lily was shocked to see their reflections disappear in the mirror opposite the doorway.

"What in Merlin's name?" she whispered unable to fathom what was going on.

"Come on Lily, you're clever, cant you work it out?" James teased, kissing her cheek lightly and sniggering into her ear. "It's an invisibility cloak, no-one will be able to see us!" he added grinning madly; then it all made sense… how the Marauders had been able to sneak around the castle late at night, or set their pranks up without anyone seeing a thing, James had an invisibility cloak!

"Where did you get it from?" Lily asked, mesmerised by the silvery fabric which shimmered at her touch.

"Dad gave it to me, family heirloom I think, now come on!" James replied, stepping forward out of the portrait hole and into the corridor, Lily hot on his heels to stay under the cloak. The coldness of the corridor hit like a ton of bricks, it was freezing! The cold stabbed at Lily's arms like a knife repeatedly stabbing into the flesh on her arms. Pulling the sleeves of her jumper down Lily regretted not picking up a jacket… how stupid could she have been? She'd done late night prefect patrol enough times to know how cold the castle could get, why on earth did she not pick up a jacket?

"Come on; let's go, before we turn into Icicles." Nodding, Lily turned to see the fat lady in her portrait stair intently at the somewhat empty space in front of her, trying to work out who was there, after a few more seconds of squinting her eyes so much the fat on her eyelids drooped and obstructed her view. Shaking her head, she muttered something about 'stupid children' and settled back down to sleep.

Following James around the castle tucked up under the invisibility cloak was oddly exhilarating. Breaking the rules was something Lily was definitely not used to… and being out in the corridors at midnight was defiantly breaking the rules… even being Head Boy and Girl might not get hem out of this if they were caught, patrols were meant to finish and hour ago, and they had no other excuse to be out; but Lily didn't care…

Suddenly James came to an abrupt stop, Lily however hadn't been expecting this and walked straight into James with an 'Umph…' smirking, James laughed slightly as he surveyed a patch of what looked like bare wall. Lily wasn't sure why they were here, the seventh floor corridor was just an ordinary wall, nothing extraordinary, and especially that wall, but James seemed to be studying it intently. Pulling off the cloaks, James folded it quickly and shoved it into the pocket on the inside of his robes. Shivering, Lily looked on bemused as James paced in front of the wall as if deep thought. Lily was about to retort a sarcastic comment until something caught her eye; spreading across the wall in front of her was a metal gate, after a few moments the gate formed into a doorway which swung open to reveal an empty room. Confused Lily took a step forward and poked her head inside; unsure of what she might see.

"What is this place?" Lily asked quietly – she'd read Hogwarts a history many times before and she was pretty sure this room was not mentioned!

"The room of requirement." James answered.

"It thought that was just a myth?" Lily questioned turning to face James as he entered and shut the door behind him, encasing them a darkness, but the black only lasted a second, as hundreds of candles lit themselves all around the edge of the room, throwing so much light around the room it could easily have passed for daylight.

"Well does this look like a myth?" James teased, holding his palms up the ceiling and looking around the empty room. Realising how silly she sounded, Lily blushed slightly. Giggling slightly, James took her face in his hands and kissed her lips softly, stroking the soft skin on her check, he pulled away. Grinning, James stepped backwards and watched Lily's face.

"What?" she asked with a grin.

"There's something, I want to show you, now close your eyes."

"Do I have to?" Lily whined.

"Yes."

"Come one James – what is it?" Lily protested, feeling rather stupid, stood with her hand over her eyes, all she could see were the flecks of colour on the inside of her eyelids.

"Count to three, and then you can open them." James replied, his voice shaking slightly.

"Is everything okay?" Lily replied, worried about the tremble in James' voice. She heard him chuckle slightly and she felt a smile spread across her face.

"Yes – now count!" James ordered, his voice stern, but still mischievous.

"Alright, alright, keep your hair on." Lily quipped, she heard James laugh quietly and then she began to count. "One… two… three…" she counted and removed her hand from her face and opened her eyes.

"Aaaahhhh!" she screamed and covered her mouth with her hands. Standing before her was not James, but a majestic stag. Searching the face of the stag for clues, Lily felt her eyes settle on the eyes of the stag, which were studying her intently - as if with concern. There was something familiar about them, something comforting. The oval shaped eyes were hazel in colour, flecked with shades of gold and emerald. Then she realised why she recognised them…

"James…" she whispered, almost hoping she was wrong about the idea whizzing round her head at a million miles per hour. She blinked her eyes and the stag was gone, and was replaced by a sheepish looking James, who ran his fingers through his unkempt hair nervously. For once in her life Lily Evans was speechless… she stood there mouth wide open, probably resembling a goldfish, unable to form words let along a full sentence.

"Say something Lily please…" James begged, taking a step towards her, his arms outstretched.

"You… you're… you're an animagus!" she managed to squeak.

"Yes, now please don't kill me, please Lily… I need you." James stammered, his eyes studying her intently, trying to gaze her reaction.

"I don't understand…" Lily replied, unable to make sense of the situation.

"I only do it for Remus though Lil… you know about him don't you?" James asked. Lily was smart, she had to have worked it out by now…

"He's a werewolf." She answered matter-of-factly, her voice deadpan.

"If were with him, he doesn't hurt himself, he can control himself, he's more human." James added, feeling sick to his stomach expecting Lily to scream and shout at him, but he had to tell her, she had to know the truth… her silence was starting to freak James out; he couldn't work out what was going through her brain. Then a smile broke out onto her face.

"You did all this for Remus?" she smiled, shaking her head slightly.

"Yes!" James almost shouted, grinning from ear to ear. She wasn't going to kill him! Yay!

"Only the marauders." She giggled, wrapping her arms around James' neck and pressing her lips onto his and relaxing into his embrace as he slithered his arms loosely around her waist and pulling her upwards so her feet dangled an inch or two above the floor, making the height difference between them less significant.

"You're so short." James mused, releasing her from his lips.

"Thanks." Lily snorted, staring him straight in those large hazel eyes, the ones only a few minutes previously had belonged to the most beautiful creature she'd seen ever seen in her life. "I always knew you were an animal." She smirked.

Feigning shock, James placed his hand on his chest and faux look of devastation was plastered across his handsome features.

"My lady I'm shocked, how could you say something like that to me? I'm so delicate!" shaking her head, lily kissed his mouth again, it was a short kiss, but it spoke everything that needed to be said. 'I love you.'

"One question." She asked, her head resting in the crook of James' neck.

"Mmm" he replied, inhaling the sweet scent of Lily – apple scented shampoo and talcum powder, the smell he knew he'd inhale when they made amortentia.

"Are Sirius and peter animagus too?"

"Yes… peter is a rat and Sirius is a dog."

"I always knew he was a dog." Lily replied with a smirk causing James to laugh out loud. "Come on, let's get back. Invisibility cloaks, the room of requirement and revealing you're an animagus – don't think I could handle any more excitement!" she added, grabbing James' hand and dragging him back towards the common room, both with eccentric grins plastered across their faces.

**Authors note: right… I know it has been aaaaaages since I last updated and I apologise, but I've had exams and loads of rubbish going on, and I've been deciding whether to carry on with this or not, but after reading my favourite few fan fictions again, I decided to! Hope you liked this chapter, I wrote the first ¾ right after I updated last and only just remembered I wrote it! Please review! Much love my lovelies!**

**Oh and I almost forgot check out this fanfiction called _'Flower and Prongs' _it is my most favourite fanfiction of all time – she is just a brilliant writer and lovely girl! Then there's a sequal and a threqual, but I can't read the last one it makes me cry! And check out some of her other stories she's brilliant! And follow me on Twitter! Pro_Flitwick MWAH TTFN xxxxx**

**PS. I know im going on but bear with me, I'll try and update more frequently from now on! Right now this really is BYE! xxxxx**


	21. Accident

Chapter 21: Accident

Trudging around the forest in the rain and freezing cold was not Lily's idea of a good lesson; well neither was care of magical creatures but she still continued to do it. Due to the sheer amount of rain they'd received, the whole place was soaking; plus she'd been paired with Sirius Black looking for some kind of moss that some kind of dragon like creature that Lily or Sirius had never heard of apparently liked to eat. Lily was fed up and couldn't wait for the lesson to end – Sirius however was enjoying himself thoroughly.

"Look Lily!" he would scream every two minutes, jumping up and down and pointing at something which had caught his attention. Lily had given up looking after his 27th shout. "I love this class." He beamed as he ran through the branches of the trees, causing their twigs to ping backwards and spray Lily with clear sheen of rain drops, which were now dropping from her eyelashes and from the end of her nose.

"Sirius, I'm bored, and my feet hurt, plus I'm soaking, and it's freezing! Let's go back now." Lily whined, Sirius however hadn't heard her or was purposely choosing to ignore her as he ran around frantically stopping for a second to look at some sort of tree before taking off again.

"SIRIUS BLACK!" She yelled, but to no avail.

"BLACK!" no reply. Then she had an idea.

"YOU BLOODY DOG! HEEL!" she screamed out as loud as she could, and to that Sirius stopped dead in his tracks and turned around to face her, a smirk unfurling across his lips.

"What did you just call me?" he grinned.

"Bloody dog." She repeated her face deadpan. Crossing her arms in front of her chest, she scowled; standing round in the rain really did not do wonders for your mood. Standing there with droplets of rain dropping from her nose and her hair hanging stringy from rain, with an almighty frown across her face Sirius couldn't help but laugh at her.

"Come on Sirius, its December, I'm freezing and I want to go inside." She moaned, stamping her foot and instantly regretting it as she stomped her foot straight into a puddle of icy cold water which sprayed up her leg, causing her already wet trousers to stick to her shivering legs. Bursting out into fits of raucous laughter, Sirius slapped his leg as he bent double to hold himself up through his peals of laughter. Scowling, Lily was not impressed.

"Sirius." She growled, pulling her cloak tighter around her torso to try and shut out the biting cold.

"Alright, alright, come on then." Sirius chuckled, wiping a tear away from his eye. "Oh you are funny Red."

"Don't call me Red." Lily growled as she allowed Sirius to take her hand and lead her out of the forest – something she was quite glad of as she had absolutely no idea where they were… and although she wouldn't admit it, having Sirius around was quite comforting, the forest was a scary place, especially as darkness was drawing in, Sirius however didn't seem to be fazed. Lily wasn't surprised though, he ran round these woods regularly accompanied by a stag, a rat and a werewolf, if he could do that Lily was sure he wasn't easily scared. Speaking of the full moon, Lily wondered when the next one was, she did a quick calculation in her head and realised it would be the end of the week. Sighing inwardly, she felt her shoulders droop, Lily hated full moons; it meant James would be running round the forest until some ungodly hour of the morning with a flipping werewolf! She knew he had to do it though, to help Remus – he wouldn't hurt himself as much if his friends were there, which meant he recovered quicker which a bonus – but it didn't stop her from worrying about him. She wouldn't be able to sleep until he came in, which was normally just shy of 3AM and even then she'd still be worried about him, so they'd normally end up curled up in an arm chair in front of the fire in the common room until morning, just so Lily could be close to him, making sure he was okay – something which James found incredibly amusing, but also very sweet.

Before Lily knew it, they were at the edge of the forest – blinking quickly, she hadn't realised how dark the forest actually was, as her eyes struggled to adjust to even the dim light of the late afternoon. Lily realised they were the last ones back in to the group - a few students turned round to stare at them as the reappeared but most kept their eyes clamped on the teacher who undoubtedly set homework.

"Right class!" the teacher yelled. "Homework!" and the whole class groaned – even Lily… she really wished she could have dropped care of magical creatures, she was taking more classes than anyone in her year and this was one class she could certainly do without! She made a mental note to go and talk to McGonagall after class about dropping this class – after all she dint need it for any of the careers she wanted so why should she waste her time doing it?

"An essay a foot in length on fire crabs and their dangers! Now off you go before it gets dark!" Lily had never been happier for a class to end!

Running up towards the castle as quick as her legs would carry her, Sirius was hot on her tail.

"Lily-Flower where are you going?" Sirius asked, breathless from running after her. Running straight past the Gryffindor common room, Sirius was confused until she stopped outside the deputy head mistress' office. Knocking on the door, Lily raised an eye brow at Sirius who had stopped behind her.

"Coming in?" she asked sweetly, knowing he would decline.

"N-n-noooo." He replied shaking his head before turning on his heels and sprinting back towards Gryffindor tower.

Turning the door knob, Lily grinned to herself and shook her head, _'Honestly Sirius Black, he's a funny one!'_ pushing the door open, she stepped inside and closed the door behind her with a click.

"When will we get to that point in our relationship Moony?" Sirius whined, pouting. Looking up from the textbook that he'd been studying for the last half an hour Remus didn't not look pleased at being interrupted.

"What?" he questioned, having absolutely no clue what his friend was talking about.

"Well James is giving Lily a foot rub – when in our relationship will we get to that point?" Sirius replied, gesturing to James and Lily curled up on the opposite sofa, her legs across his lap and he was massaging her feet. Raising an eyebrow Remus smirked, Sirius however was straight faced.

"Padfoot, we are not in a relationship, no matter how badly you want it to be. In fact you have a girlfriend." Remus reminded him, obviously this fact had slipped from Sirius' mind, this was not surprising considering the length of his attention span; in fact it was remarkable that he and Hestia had lasted this long; Sirius normally lost interest in a girl after a few minutes, _'She must be special'_ Remus thought.

"Say it is not so Remus dear! You are not denying our relationship! But I cannot live without you dear! You are the light of my life, the Moony to my Padfoot!" Sirius squealed in a high pitched tone, causing a few first years to turn around and whisper between themselves looking very confused. Flushing red, Remus returned to his book trying to avoid the stares of four very confused first years. Sirius stared at Lily jealously and pouted his lips again, crossing his arms in front of his chest and leaning back in his chair, he was doing a very accurate impression of a five year old.

Wiggling her toes, Lily sent James a grin. Still rubbing Lily's aching feet, James leant back into his chair and grinned back. _'He really is perfect…'_ Lily thought as she watched James massaged her aching feet, it was pure bliss. In the chair next to them, Sirius was still staring on; his eyes narrowed to almost slits, and was shooting Lily a look of pure venom.

"Jealous Padfoot?" James teased, looking up from Lily's feet. Still pouting, Sirius nodded his head. Jerking his feet on the coffee table with a bang, Sirius grinned madly, if she didn't know any better Lily would have thought he had escaped from a lunatic asylum.

"My turn now!" he shouted gesturing madly at his feet, looking decidedly proud with himself. James shook his head with a small chuckle.

"There is no way I'm going near your feet Sirius, they're disgusting." James retorted. Lily snorted and covered her mouth with her hands to cover her laughing, earning herself a scathing look from Sirius, who did not look impressed at his feet being insulted.

"Remus?" Sirius started.

"Yes Sirius?" Remus replied, again being distracted from his revision – did his friends want him to pass his NEWTs or not?

"Tell James and Lily I am not speaking to them after they insulted my feet." Sirius retorted.

"No, and I agree your feet are disgusting, I mean… how long have you had those socks on? A week?" Remus added gesturing towards his friend's feet. Burying his head back in his book, his face still flushing, he would revise!

"Sirius you were enjoying that lesson – I on the other hand were not, trudging after you running round like a first year!" Lily declared, and let out a giggle after seeing Sirius' look of faux shock. Before Sirius could reply the portrait hole swung open and in walked Hestia, distracting Sirius from the rubbing of feet (or not getting as the case may be).

"Evening!" Hestia yelled out as she walked over towards the group, who were sat in their usual seats in front of the fire. Smiling at the sudden warmth, she loosened her cloak from around her shoulders and allowed the wet fabric to fall to the floor – honestly, never allow Alice to convince you for a walk around the grounds in the rain!

"Girlfriend?" Sirius asked, turning his head to face her.

"Yes baby?" Hestia replied, appearing behind Sirius' chair and ruffling his hair. Leaning over she planted a small kiss on his forehead, looking up at her he smiled and he kissed her lips. Lily let out a small 'Awww.'

"What? They're cute!" Lily hissed into James' ear, after he raised an eyebrow. He laughed and shook his head – but he couldn't help but agree. It was true; Sirius and Hestia were just so damn cute! And it was nice to see his best friend happy, with a girl who genuinely loved him (and not just because he was Sirius Black!), it warmed his heart.

"Give me a foot rub please?"

"Black you're late! Twelve laps of the pitch! NOW!" James yelled towards Sirius who ran quickly onto the pitch before hopping onto his broom and flying through the air towards his best friend. A bemused look crossing his handsome features as the wind whipped at his hair, spreading his fringe to either side of his face like curtains.

"WHAAAT?" Sirius questioned. His face etched with confusion. Why was James being so hard on him? Why did he look so angry? Oh Merlin, what have I done now?

"Twelve laps round the stadium – that's a lap for every minute you're late. And where is your bat?" James questioned, his eyes searching his friend for any sign of a beaters bat hidden amongst his apparel.

"Crap – knew I'd forgotten something! _Accio bat_!" Sirius said with a lazy flick of his wand, which he produced from a carefully concealed strap attached around his left wrist. With that there was a whistling sound – like a bludger as it sails towards and unsuspecting victim, the next thing the team knew a beaters bat was whizzing through the air towards Sirius' open hand, narrowly missing Tom McKenna, their 4th year keeper.

"Merlin's pants!" Tom gasped as he ducked violently to avoid having his head taken off by the bat which was now securely in Sirius's hand.

"What the hell was that?" James shouted gesturing towards Tom whilst glaring at Sirius, his voice strained and his cheeks flushing violet. Anger boiled inside of him – did Sirius not take this seriously or something? "You nearly took out Tom then and you are nearly 15 minutes late for practice, do you not take this seriously Black?" Sirius winced at the use of his last name; James never used that unless he was really, really mad... Staring down at the bat in his hands; juggling it between his left and right hand Sirius felt blush creeping into his cheeks. "And that goes for all of you!" James shouted, turning to face the rest of his team, who were hanging around on their brooms watching the argument between their captain and beater with both amusement and fear. "If you are not 100% committed to this, get out, I don't want you. I'll replace you." He added bluntly. Looking on sombrely, he dared the team members to move with his eyes but no member of the team moved.

"Right, well let's get on with it then." James demanded. Issuing his team separate instructions, James watched Sirius out of the corner of his eye, he knew if anyone would try and skip a punishment it would be him. Lapping the stadium – something he hated doing – Sirius couldn't work out why James was so angry! He'd been late for practice a few times, but then so had everyone else! And he had a valid reason... for once – probably the first time ever without any help from Remus or Lily – Sirius Black had actually done his homework!

"Daniel pass to Daisy!" James shouted, trying to make his voice heard about the roaring wind. Daniel, a second year, must have heard him though, as he passed the quaffle with surprising skill towards the other chaser Daisy Christie, a pretty 5th year girl. Her black plaits flying out behind as she zoomed through the air, she caught the quaffle with virtually no effort and she whizzed towards the three goal hoops at the end of the pitch where Tom was ready and waiting for the oncoming goal attempt. Throwing with all her might, she aimed towards the bottom left hand hoop, the one which Tom was leaving the most vulnerable. Tom however was using the tactics he and James had discussed privately earlier that practice – _'Leave one hoop deliberately undefended, the chasers will then be more inclined to shoot for that hoop as an easy target, then you can take a guess at which hoop they're likely to go for and zoom in and deflect the goal before they even realise what has happened.'_ Flying like a bolt of lightening towards the bottom left hand hoop Tom quickly deflected the quaffle which bounced straight into the hands of Daniel, who narrowly avoided a bludger aimed by Gwenog Jones, the other beater. Daisy hung in the air for a second, not believing her perfect throw had been deflected, much to the amusement of Tom who smirked knowingly, after a few seconds Daisy regained her composure and grinned back cheekily, turning her back on Tom she re-joined the practice. Weaving in and out of set patterns, Daniel and Daisy avoided the bludgers aimed by the two beaters, Gwenog and Sirius, who were trying with their strength to try and knock their team mates off their brooms. Meanwhile, James was using his wand to fling golden golf balls at Jessica who zipped around the stadium at a startling pace trying to catch every single one. The wind whipped at her long ponytail as the whizzed as fast as she dared trying to catch the balls – leaning hard into her broom she leant out to catch the golden sphere in front of her, but misjudged its position and pressed too hard into the handle sending the broom into a dangerous downwards spiral. Attempting to pull the broom up was useless, the decent wads too sharp, she couldn't stop the broom from falling and jumping from this height would undoubtedly cause more damage than landing on the broom, she was going to career into one of the stadium walls, abandoning her futile attempt to save the broom, she braced herself for the incoming impact. Sensing what was going to happen a moment before it happened, James cast a cushioning charm from the end of his wand and sped after her as quickly as he could, unsure whether his charm had been cast in time.

Crunch. Banging into the wooden stadium wall hurt a lot less than she imagined it would, probably because of the cushioning charm she'd heard James cast, but the crunch was unmistakable. As her face connected with the wooden surface, she felt her nose break and blood begin to drip down across her split lip. Smacking each limb in turn as she careered downwards, she could feel the bruises spring up across her pale skin. Her body shield protected most of her torso, but it didn't protect her shoulder, which she guessed was dislocated from the searing pain spreading across her shoulder blades. Spreading down her chest Jess knew something had happened to her ribs, but her body shield had done its job, most of her body had been protected. Finally landing with a thump on the gravel at the edge of the pitch after what felt like an age, she let out a small groan.

"Jess!" Sirius and James shouted in unison, as they flew down to her side. Dismounting a few feet from the floor, Sirius hit the ground at a run and stopped at Jess' side. Lying on her front with her head facing Sirius, her right arm was splayed out beside her but luckily didn't look to be broken. Her legs were curled up beside her and looked to have been spared the impact of the fall by her left arm which she'd landed on to try and slow her decent. Sticking out from her body at an odd angle, he knew she'd broken the arm at least twice.

"Oww…" she managed to moan, as Sirius lowered his head next to hers. He let out a small chuckle.

"You're a mess Silvers." He stated, wiping some of the blood which was slowly flowing across her cheek from her nose and lip. Wincing as his flesh connected with hers, it hurt more than she expected it to, the skin on her face was tender and covered in grazes from grating against the wall.

"Go get Pomfrey!" James yelled at Daisy and Tom who sped off towards the castle, their brooms whistling as they sped through the air. In a flash they were gone.

"Daniel – tell McGonagall!" Nodding, Daniel sped off just like the other two had done just seconds previously. "Be careful!" James shouted after him, although he doubted any of them heard him, and his voice was lost to the wind.

"Hey, hey, don't move." James soothed as he pushed a strand of Jessica's long blonde hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear. Despite the warnings off her captain and friend, she continued to wriggle, as if trying to find a position at which her body felt most comfortable.

"Jess stop moving!" Sirius demanded imperiously. Eyeing up her shoulder and arm, Sirius felt a bit sick – an arm should definitely not bend that way, and shoulders should not stick out the socket like that! Biting his lip, he couldn't imagine the amount of pain Jess was in, the amount which would surely decrease if she would just lie still!

"Wand… sticking in… oww…" Jess stammered. Turning to face James, Sirius looked utterly confused. What the hell was Jess talking about? James' face portrayed the same kind confusion as his friend.

"Oh for goodness sake!" Gwenog interrupted. Swooping down to Jess' side, she rolled Jessica slightly.

"Gwen what are you doing, you'll hurt her!" James, demanded, making a grab for her hand after seeing the pain in Jessica's face.

"Her wand it's sticking in her side!" Gwenog retorted, pulling Jessica's wand from the inside pocket of her quidditch robes, much to relief of Jess who sighed slightly now the pain in her hip was gone. Looking sheepishly at his beater, James smiled slightly, his face blushing slightly.

"What happened Jess?" Gwenog asked, rubbing light circles on Jessica's back – which Jess seemed to find relieving as a small smile formed on her split lips.

"Leant too… hard into… my broom…own fault…" she managed in-between breaths. There was something else, which they hadn't spotted. Breathless, Jessica attempted a smile, but ended up wincing in more pain, her brow furrowing, she tried to block out the aching in her chest but to no avail. Then an idea popped into Sirius' head.

"Right Jess, don't kill me, but…" and before Jess could reply, Sirius had wormed his hand underneath Jess' limp body and felt across her ribcage. Letting out a small yelp, Sirius knew he'd found the spot. "Right, this is going to really hurt…" Sirius warned. Taking hold of Jessica's hand on her unbroken arm, James felt her squeeze down onto his fingers, hard.

Sirius felt across her chest, feeling for a break, pushing his fingers into the part of Jessica's rib cage which seemed the tenderest. Squeezing James' hand until his fingers were white and biting down on the soft flesh below her lip, Jessica was in danger of drawing blood. Slowly with drawing his hand from underneath her body, Sirius looked at James who glaring back at him, searching his face for answers.

"One cracked rib – I think the rest are just bruised though. Looks like her body shield helped though, protected her torso." Sirius concluded. Wincing, Jessica's eyes glistened with tears. One or two leaked from the corners of her eyes and slipped down her bloodied cheeks. Wiping them from her face, James rubbed his fingers across her cheeks in an attempt to sooth her. "Heyy, well just think Silvers all the girls in the Sirius Black fan club are going to be jealous, when they find out, I just felt up your chest!" Sirius proclaimed with a smirk unfurling across his face. Blushing slightly, Jess managed a smile, but before she could reply she was cut off by an almighty shriek.

"Oh good Lord Child! What have you done?" Madame Pomfrey questioned. Her eyes scanning over Jessica's broken body laid out in the gravel. Then she noticed James and Sirius sat there. "You." She added, narrowing her eyes at the boys. "You and your bloody quidditch! My infirmary is always full because of you two!"

Taken a back, James and Sirius just stared on utterly flabbergasted at the school matron who was stood hands on hips staring them down in a furious rage.

"Errm… I'm still here!" Jess squeaked. Causing her three team mates to giggle - that was the Jessica they knew, always the joker. With a flash and a flick of the matron's wand, Jessica was laid out on her back on a stretcher, grimacing in pain. Taking hold of one end of the stretcher the matron muttered a few words under her breath and with a flash of blue light they were gone.

"Nice to see you too Poppy." Sirius said to empty space in front of him where Madame Pomfrey had stood a few seconds before. Breaking out in fits of laughter, James and Gwenog didn't see Daniel, Daisy and Tom reappear.

"Will she be okay?" Daniel asked trying to sound brave but he was betrayed by the tears trickling down his cheeks. Daisy put her arm round him and squeezed it reassuringly - sometimes they forgot how young he was, he was only a second year after all, James, Sirius and Jess were five a half years older than him, something which was easy to forget as they flew around the pitch with him.

"Madame Pomfrey has her now, she'll be fine." James smiled attempting to consol the distraught second year. He's only been on the team since the beginning of the year so this was probably the most serious quidditch accident he'd ever seen. "Right team." James said to his five other players. "I think we'll call it a night."

**AN: thank you for reading! Thanks for bearing with me when I didn't write! I've had some time off college this week so I've been writing like crazy, I've written the next two and a half chapters, so I'll put them up some at time end of this week! Hope you like this chapter, and remember to review - let me know you're thoughts! TTFN xxxx**

**PS Don't get too ma with me for hurting Jess! She'll be alright I promise! xxx**


	22. Full Moon

Chapter 22: Full Moon

Author's note: I'm sorry if this chapter seems a little dark or depressing ( I don't know if it will!) but I'm listening to Lily's them while I write it and I'm getting all emotional, so sorry in advance! Hahaaa

"Where the_ hell_ have you been James Potter?" Lily screeched jumping from the sofa throwing her arms out dramatically as James and the remaining members of the team trudged through the portrait hole, a little while after Jessica had been escorted off to the hospital wing. "Do you know what time it is?" However once she saw James' face and the blood on his robes, she instantly forgot her anger and ran over to him, flinging her arms around his neck. "Are you alright?" she questioned, pulling out of the hug and cupping her hands on his cheeks, as if to check he was still flesh and blood.

"I'm fine Lil, seriously." James smiled at his girlfriend's concern. Taking her hands of his cheeks he continued to hold them, squeezing them reassuringly. Then Lily turned to the rest of the team, dishevelled and dirty, the tears dropping down Daniel's cheeks. She opened her mouth to speak but was cut off by Alice.

"Where's Jess?" she questioned, appearing behind Lily's shoulder, Hestia at her side. James and Sirius looked at each other and then at the floor, the rest of the team looking sheepish.

"Where is Jess?" Alice repeated, looking directly at James. A few seconds under Alice's intent stare and James caved.

"Hospital wing…" he answered.

The three girls gasped in unison and turned round the face each other, looks of horror and confusion spreading across their faces. The rest of the team took this as their cue to leave and skulked up their dormitories in silence. James and Sirius attempted to follow them, but were stopped by Hestia.

"Black, Potter, don't you dare move." Then she pointed a perfectly manicured nail towards the squishy red sofa in front of the fire, their usual seats, her red nail warmish glinting in the firelight.

"What happened? Is it serious?" Alice asked, once the five of them were seated. Looking at his best friend sheepishly, James knew Sirius was not going to say anything whilst Hestia was shooting him her death glare so he concluded it was all up to him.

"We were at practice…" he trailed off.

"Well we know that!" Alice snapped. "And the rest please Potter!" wincing with the use of his last name, James nevertheless tried to carry on.

"We were at practice and I was testing her reflexes, throwing golf balls and getting her to fly after them, and she went to catch one, leant too hard into her broom and over balanced it… she made the broom spiral out of control and went headfirst into the stadium wall…" James finished. Alice let out a sob and was consoled by Lily who felt tears prick in her eyes but resisted them.

"How badly is she hurt?" Lily asked, her voice trembling.

"Her arm and nose broken, shoulder dislocated and I think she's cracked a rib…" Sirius chipped in, finally caving into Hestia's death glare. Hestia was unusually quiet, the thing she did when she was upset but didn't want to show it. Leaning across Alice, who had her face buried in Lily's shoulder sobbing, Lily squeezed her best friend's shoulder reassuringly. Forcing her mouth into a small smile, Hestia managed to portray her gratitude.

"Can we go see her?" Hestia asked quietly, still staring into her lap.

"No-one's allowed in the hospital wing, its erm... blocked off…" James stammered as he tried to explain why the hospital wing was out of bounds without mentioning that it was because Remus was there preparing for his painful transformation into a werewolf tonight.

"Why?" Alice said, her face still buried in Lily's shoulder. Lily looked straight at James and a silent understanding passed between them.

"They want to give Jess the fullest attention, so they don't want us in." Lily lied. Rubbing circles on her friends back. Lily felt Alice nod into her shoulder. Lily felt awful about lying to Alice, but she needed to do to protect Remus.

Remus… Lily thought. Then an awful thought crossed her mind. If Jessica was in the hospital wing, she'd see Remus… and she'd find out his secret…

James and Sirius seemed to have the same thought, looking at each other with looks of horror; James was the first to say something.

"Well we can't do anything now… nature will have to take its course." And with that, no-one else said a word.

"Oh dear Miss Silvers, you've really outdone yourself this time!" Madame Pomfrey chided surveying Jessica's injuries.

'_Jessica? What was she doing here? What had happened to her?_' peaking round the side of the hospital curtain, Remus couldn't mistake that blonde hair, pulled back out of her face, although a few strands had loosened themselves from her ponytail and were trailing around her face, which was pale and clammy.

"Oh hush matron, I'm fine." Jessica chided, although the grimacing in pain and shakiness in her voice betrayed her.

"Ssh child, from the look of you, you hit that wall hard." Madame Pomfrey replied, administering a small needle of clear fluid into Jessica's shoulder, to which she flinched but let out no sound. Laying the needle back on a table beside Jessica's bed, matron took out her wand and lightly tapped Jessica's shoulder, which popped back into place at alarming speed – with a surprised squeak from Jessica who wasn't expecting such a jerking from her shoulder but shockingly didn't feel a thing.

'_What happened to her?'_ Remus wondered. She looked awful, her nose was bent at a strange angle and her lip looked like it had been bitten through. Blood was slowly dropping down onto her white t-shirt underneath her quidditch robes, although now her dislocated shoulder was popped back in Remus could see the bending in her arm.

"Now this is going to hurt." The matron warned as she lightly took hold of Jessica's fingers who stared on unaware of what was about to happen. Pulling Jessica's arm straight, she screamed out in pain. Biting down on the knuckle of her other hand to stop her from screaming out again, she closed her eyes and she them as tightly shut as she could to avoid seeing what Madame Pomfrey was doing her arm. With another few taps of her wand, the bones straightened out and knitted back together.

"Bend." The matron instructed and Jessica obediently bent her arm, there was twinge of pain where the bones were healing, but the bone seemed to be back in one piece.

"Now, what to do about that rib." Madame Pomfrey pondered for a few moments, stroking her chin thinking about which remedy to use. Then she turned on her heel and disappeared into her office, the sound of rattling bottles filling the quiet hospital wing. Jessica looked around – there were only two patients in, including herself, the only other patient was covered by a clinical white curtain and Jessica couldn't tell who it was. On closer inspection, Jess could see an eye staring out from the edge of the curtain, for a few moments they stared at each other, neither one daring to break eye contact, and then they disappeared back round the curtain and out of sight. But Jessica didn't need to look any longer, she knew who the eye belonged to, no-one else had eyes of that vivid blue… well except for Dumbledore and Jessica doubted he would be in the hospital wing… if she was not mistaken the eye belonged to none other but Remus Lupin.

Pulling herself off the bed she began to make her way over the Remus' bed. Trying to make as little noise as possible as her feet connected with the cold marble floor. Shakily she tried to move her feet in front of each other but her brain seemed so scrambled that it couldn't even process simple instructions and she fell, catching her unbroken arm on the bed side cabinet to stop herself from landing in a heap on the floor.

"Jessica! Back to bed NOW." Madame Pomfrey screeched as she exited her office holding several phials. Sighing, Jess pulled herself back up from her crouching position and was helped back onto her bed by Madame Pomfrey. Lying down, flat on her back, she wondered what Remus could be doing in the hospital wing, especially since she said he going to visit his sick aunt… she was thinking so deeply, she didn't realise the matron was pouring medicine into her mouth until the vile liquid trickled down her throat. Spluttering madly as she swallowed the revolting liquid, she threw Madame Pomfrey one of Lily's prefect death glares. Sitting up quickly, she felt the pain sear in her chest and automatically laid back out where the pain lessened.

"Well, that is something for the pain and it'll help the bones, including your rib and nose to heal, which I'll set once you're asleep. Plus there's a little something in there to help you drift off." But by this stage Jess was no longer listening. The room was becoming fuzzy and her eyelids drooped, finally closing a second later as she drifted off to sleep.

"OW! Padfoot, you stood on my foot!"

"Well, I'm sorry Prongs but this cloak isn't as big as it used to be!" Sirius protested. Scoffing, James shook his head. "We are a lot bigger now than in first year Potter." Sirius added, to fill the silence as they hurried down the corridors of Hogwarts and out through the open front doors and towards the whomping willow.

"There was enough room for me and Lily." James muttered to himself as he hurried as fast as was possibly under the cloak with Sirius close behind him.

"Wait, you brought Lily out under the cloak?" Sirius hissed.

"Yeah ages ago, now come on!" James replied, throwing off the cloak as Peter came into view, stood a safe distance from the whomping willow, its branches swirling round madly trying to catch Peter with its whip like twigs.

"Where have you two been?" Peter questioned. "It's nearly time for the full moon!" he seemed irritated. Sirius shrugged, this wasn't the time to tell him about Jessica's accident.

"Well come on then!" James interrupted impatiently, he wanted to get in and see Remus, seeing Jessica might have shaken him up, possibly making him more dangerous as a werewolf, they'd have to be incredibly careful tonight.

"Fine, fine, I'm going." Peter replied, turning into his rat animagus. Running across the ground he pressed the knot on the tree and the branches of the tree froze, mid twirl. Scurrying inside, deep in the tunnel towards the shrieking shack, they heard the howl. Quickly transforming into a dog and a stag, Sirius and James continued to make their way towards the door. Finding the werewolf curled up in the corner, its clawed paws in front of its face, its skin matted with its own blood, it had already begun hurting itself. Being cramped up in the small room at the shrieking shack made Remus confused, he needed to be out in the forest running off steam, so when he was cooped up without his friends to distract him, he took to hurting himself as he tried to break out of the room.

James looked own at his friend who's yellow slit like eyes flicked towards them as they entered the room, and instantly felt guilty; it had only been a minute between them getting there and Remus' transformation and his coat was already bleeding, cuts criss crossing across his skin matting the grey fur. Standing up to his full height, the werewolf's head scraped the ceiling, it growled, baring his large teeth. It took a step towards them and the dog began barking excitedly as it hurried out of the door way, quickly followed by the werewolf who eagerly followed the wagging tail of Sirius Black. James watched Remus scurry out of the door and slowly followed. The werewolf spotted the stag wasn't following and turned his face to see him, a way behind them; the werewolf howled loudly beckoning James to follow, its eyes slightly more blue than they were a minute ago. As the yellow faded into blue, James knew Remus had control and happily followed them out into the forest for a marauders night of madness.

Sitting alone in the common room, Lily felt sick. She always did on nights of full moons. Curled up in front of the dying fire, she pulled her red fleecy blanket tighter around herself and rest her head on the arm of the sofa, which was being more uncomfortable the longer she sat on it. Shifting her legs to a more comfortable position she tried not to think about Jessica in the hospital wing all by herself, spending away from her friends, seeing the boy she liked in there preparing for her change into a werewolf. Lily hoped Jessica had been too out of it to see him or at least to realise what was going on, although she doubted that. Then there was James, he was running round the forest with a bloody werewolf for goodness sake, she didn't even dare think about the danger he was putting himself in, but she had to smile; James was the most loyal man she knew, he put himself in danger to save his friend, and she couldn't fault that. Feeling her eyelids droop, she pinched the skin on the inside of her forearm, the sudden sharp pain brought her eyes fully open as she continued to wait for James to come back. Worry began to build inside her chest, they were normally back by now. The clock chimed four and she began to pace the common room, so much she wondered why she hadn't worn a hole in the floorboards and fell down the floor below. Then the sound of the portrait hole creaked open and a very tired and dirty James, Sirius and Peter walked in.

"Oh Merlin, you're alright!" Lily sighed, running towards James and flinging her arms around his neck. "I thought something had happened to you."

"We're fine." Sirius interrupted. "Remus just took a little longer to come around that all, plus we took a detour into the hospital wing with the cloak." He added, holding the shimmery fabric up for dramatic effect.

"Did you see Jess?" Lily asked. "Did she see Remus?" she added, not quite wanting to know the answer.

"Remus was a bit out of it, but I don't how much she saw, but from where her bed is, I bet she saw something…" James trailed off.

"But she looked much better!" Peter chipped in. Smiling, Lily couldn't help but feel relieved that Jessica looked better, but she still felt slightly sick, had she seen Remus? Did she know his secret? And how would she react if she had?

Waking up with a pounding headache, Jessica felt like she'd been repeatedly thrown against a wall, then she realised that she had. Letting out a small groan, she rubbed her forehead, trying to relieve the pain. The smell of chemicals and disinfectant filled her nostrils; she guessed it was from her nose being set last night whilst she slept. Sitting up in her bed, she leant back on her pillows and tried to remember as much as she could about last night. She remembered the wall, hitting it – hard, she remembered Sirius' comment about feeling her chest, James' concern, and Madame Pomfrey chiding her for getting injured and Remus…Remus…

Looking over at the bed where she'd last seen him, the curtain was still up. The clock on the wall read five o'clock – Jessica knew from experience that the matron was an early riser, so she'd have half an hour maximum before she woke up and came to check on her two patients. Trying to be as quiet as she could she tip toed over to Remus' bed. Making it over without making a sound, her limbs didn't betray her this time. Peering around the she saw Remus laid asleep. _'But why is he here? I thought he was visiting a sick aunt?'_ Jessica didn't know what to think, then she saw the bruises. Remus was sleeping shirtless, and his chest was covered in black and blue bruises. A deep gash ran across his left bicep and across his collarbone on the opposite side. He looked like he'd been healed though, several smaller cuts were healing before her very eyes, scarring and then disappearing. Rolling over in his sleep he muttered something inaudible and Jessica couldn't help but smile. Now facing her, he looked so peaceful… but the bruises were still troubling her, they were in clusters, almost like a fist, but larger, around three times the size of a normal fist. Then a thought popped into her mind, what if every time Remus says he has to leave, he was here? That was every couple of weeks… she tried to think of something that occurred every couple of weeks that Remus could be hiding… then she realised what was going on. Last night at practice she'd commented on the full moon tonight, remembering Professor Sinistra – the astronomy professor – had mentioned it earlier that week, to which James and Sirius had got very cagey and had thrown themselves back into the practice to avoid the subject. Last night was a full moon, surely it must be coincidence? But Jessica knew it wasn't, Remus Lupin, the Remus she'd had a crush on for months was a werewolf…

Gasping she covered her mouth with her hands as she looked down at the sleeping boy. Even the small noise was enough to wake Remus, who had always been a light sleeper.

"Jessica?" he asked groggily, not quite sure if his eyes were betraying him in his half-awake stupor. "Jessica!" he exclaimed. Suddenly jolting awake and realising who was stood over him. She was just staring back at him, her hands still covering her mouth in shock, shaking her head slightly, as if trying to convince herself that she was wrong. "Jess." He repeated, jumping out of bed and clasping her shoulders tightly in his hands, ignoring the aching in his muscles and the fire that seemed to be burning in his bones. She just stared on at him, speechless.

"Jess, please say something…" Remus pleaded. She was looking at him in shock and surprise, but her eyes conveyed hurt. _'She hates me.'_ He concluded. _'She knows what I am and she thinks I'm a monster.'_

"You're a werewolf…" she managed to squeak.

"Yes, yes, but…" Remus tried to reply but he words wouldn't form in his mouth. She let out a small squeak and covered her whole face in her hands. Without even thinking what he was doing, Remus pulled her close into him and absently stroked her hair which now hung loose around her shoulders. For the first time, Remus realised he was shirtless and began to feel slightly self-conscious, but before he could blush or even think about it, Madame Pomfrey came out of her office and saw the two of them; confusion and horror spreading across her face. Catching Remus' eye, he brought his finger up to his lips, and the matron stayed quiet, watching from a distance. Pulling away from him, Jessica looked him in the eye and shook her head, taking steps away from him, retreating back towards her bed. She grabbed her quidditch robes and crossed the wing, towards the exit. "Jess wait…" Remus called after her, but she couldn't face him at that moment. _'Why didn't he tell me? Does he not trust me?' _her brain was whirring; she barely even registered the matrons hand, clasping her arm.

"Miss Silvers, you are ill, you had a horrible accident yesterday, you need to rest." She said softly but firmly. Ignoring her Jessica shook her arm out of her grip.

"No, I'm fine, honestly." And with that she was gone.


	23. Answers

Chapter 23: Answers

**Authors note – I'm so annoyed! I wrote this whole chapter, and it was kick ass, and I can't find where I saved it! So I'm very sorry, you'll have to cope with my re written one which I don't think is as good Sorry and I apologise for the suckiness…**

"Jessica?" curled up on the sofa; Lily sleepily lifted her head from James' chest to see her friend stumble through the portrait hole. "What are you doing here? You should be in the hospital wing!" she squeaked, suddenly wide awake and worried about her friend's health.

Shaking her head, tears ran down Jessica's cheeks. Jumping up from the sofa, Lily embraced her friend, standing on her tip toes so they were around the same height. Wrapping her rams around Jessica's shoulders, Lily felt her friend's body shake as she began to sob into her shoulder.

"Come on, I think you need to go to bed." Lily advised, pulling her friend up the stairway and towards their dormitory, leaving a very confused and sleepy James still half asleep on the sofa, wondering what had just happened. Shaking his head and stretching his arms high above his head, he pulled himself off the sofa and up the stairs towards his dormitory, if he was awake when he didn't want to be, the Marauders had to be too.

Forcing Jessica into her bed, Lily pulled the duvet up to her chin and pulled the curtains around her bed so she'd be in darkness with little protest from Jessica. Staring at Jessica's face, as she snuggled down into her duvet, Lily wondered what had gone on in the hospital wing to upset Jessica so much, guessing it was to do with Remus and his secret, Lily hoped she was wrong.

"Sleep tight Jess." Lily whispered so quietly she wasn't even sure if Jessica had heard her, but she was trying not to wake her other two friends were sleeping in their beds, but as Lily finished sorting out Jessica, Alice and Hestia began to stir.

"Is that Jessica?" Alice asked, rubbing her eyes groggily and sitting up in her bed. Lily nodded as she walked over to her own bed and looked at it longingly, what she would give to curl up in there and sleep for the whole day. Shaking her head, she tore the idea from her brain. "Can I see her?" Alice asked tentatively, still sounding half asleep.

"She needs some time to rest Alice, we'll see her later." Hestia cut in seeing the way Lily looked worriedly over towards Jessica's bed. The girls had always understood each other, without either of them saying a word. Taking a deep breath in and stretching her arms out in front of her, Hestia grimaced when she saw the time on the clock. 'Oh well, I'm awake now.' She inwardly sighed. Pulling the duvet back and slipping out of her bed, Lily smirked as she saw Hestia's attire. A man's t shirt, probably Sirius', large and baggy, it hung off her slender frame, paired with a pink pair of skimpy knickers, coupled with her long curly hair stuck out at odd angles, Hestia really was a sight. Raising an eyebrow, Hestia dared best friend to object and then they both grinned, not daring to speak in case she woke Jessica up. Slipping across the floorboards towards the bathroom, Hestia locked the door and got ready as Lily and Alice, who was still groggy, tip toed around their dormitory getting dressed and washed as quickly and quietly as they could; then creeping down the stairs and into the common room, trying not to disturb Jessica.

It was barely six o'clock but when the girls got down to the common room they were surprised to find the Marauders and Frank there, bleary eyed but awake. James, Lily and Sirius exchanged worried glances. Frank took Alice's hand and smiled reassuringly, they didn't understand what was going on, but he knew it must be serious, and now that Alice was here with him he was calmer, knowing she was alright. The 7th year Gryffindor's all stood in silence there for a moment, dressed in their school robes, without saying a word. Time seemed to stop as Lily looked around her friends, they'd have to find out sooner rather than later about Remus – it was a surprise they hadn't already found out to be honest, his excuse of visiting a sick aunt was not very convincing and anyone who had a basic grip on astronomy could have plotted the timings of the full moons and compared to Remus' visit to 'his sick aunt'. Then Lily wondered how her friends would react, she liked to think none of them would take it badly and nothing would change in their group, but as the current climate proved – you couldn't fully trust anyone. The thought of nay of her friends not accepting Remus and being prejudiced against werewolves was hard to stomach but she had to prepare herself for it, it was a possibility, it _could_ happen.

"Come on, let's go get some breakfast, then I think we need a group meeting." James spoke after the silence. The rest of the group nodded enthusiastically at the mention of food and clambered out of the portrait hole, towards the Great Hall where breakfast would be undoubtedly waiting.

Full of toast, sausages, eggs, beans and bacon which had all hastily eaten, the group trudged out to the infamous Marauders tree. The clock had just struck seven as the exited the doors of Hogwarts so they guessed they'd have some privacy, most of Hogwarts castle would still be asleep. The wind from yesterday had died down but it was still bitterly cold, biting at any piece of bare flesh and sting the eyes, the December chill had defiantly started. Lily could feel the end of her nose going numb and pulled her cloak tighter around herself, tucking her hands on the inside in an attempt to keep them warm. Wiggling her toes she tried to shake off the numbness which was already forming but she couldn't, she doubted any cold which had made it through her boots and three pairs of socks would not be easy to shake. Sprinkled across the cold ground was a light frost, which clung to the trees making them sparkle like silver in the dim morning light. The sun was only just beginning to peep out from behind the hills, although a few of its rays poked through and melted the frost until it was just morning dew covering the grass in a blanket of shining droplets of water, glinting like diamonds as they strode across them until they reached their destination.

"Right…" James started trailing off.

"We need to tell you something. Remus is a werewolf." Sirius finished bluntly. Taken aback by the sudden bluntness of Sirius' comment, it took even Lily a few seconds to process what he had said. Even though Lily already knew Remus' secret, it still hit her like a brick wall. Scanning the faces of her friends, Lily noted none of them looked particularly surprised, which in a way was relieving – none of them looked angry and none of them looked scared – which had to be a good sign.

"We guessed it was something like that." Hestia replied shrugging. Burying her hands in her pockets, Hestia was glad she'd put two of the muggle hand warmers Lily had given her for Christmas last year into her pockets, her hands were now toasty warm and she smiled smugly seeing the shivering of her friends. Sirius looked to Frank and Alice who smiled, clearly none of his friends had a problem with Remus' condition, the main thing Remus was worried about.

"So none of you hate him?" James asked tentatively.

"Course not!" Frank scoffed. "He's still the same guy, he just has a….a…." Frank didn't quite know how to phrase the end of his sentence.

"Furry little problem?" Peter offered and the rest of the group laughed, Sirius blushed slightly at the use of his pet name for Remus' problem. Wiping a tear from his eye, James couldn't help but laugh, honestly Peter did crack him up, he was worth having around.

"And there's something else…" James added. The rest of the group looked at him expectantly. "Me, Sirius and Peter are illegal animagus to help Remus…" this time the group looked shocked. After a few moments of silence, Frank found his voice.

"That is so COOL!" he exclaimed, James laughed slightly, dragging his hand through his hair and ruffling it, when he thought about it, it was kind of cool. Lily however shot him a _'Don't-smile-this-is-serious'_ look and his face fell, only to be replaced by another grin, he couldn't help it, he was one of the youngest animagus ever, even Lily had to admit that was cool… and after a few moments she did, her face breaking into a grin.

"I don't believe you." Hestia put in. Lily looked at her best friend was shock and confusion. She couldn't quite believe how Hestia could not believe them! James looked shocked but Sirius grinned - he liked a challenge. Hestia rolled her eyes, and when they landed back on her boyfriend, he was no longer there but in his place a big black dog, with a shaggy coat, wagging tail and grey eyes – the same grey eyes as Sirius Black. Bounding towards her he jumped up onto his hind legs and put his paws on her shoulders barking loudly. She squealed and the dog barked again and tried to lick her face.

"Okay, okay, I believe you!" Hestia giggled, pushing the dog off her as it turned back into Sirius who wore a mischievous grin as he pulled Hestia close and kissed her cheek, blushing slightly as she whispered something into his ear. Rolling her eyes Lily smiled, Hestia couldn't deny that!

"Definitely cool." Frank concluded.

"I always knew you were a dog Sirius." Alice joked, to which Sirius smirked.

"That's what Lily said!" James exclaimed with a childlike grin. Sirius looked taken aback and Lily blushed slightly, but after Sirius' face broke into one of his manic grins she couldn't help but laugh, Lily took hold of James hand and found his fingers were as cold as hers. Wrapping her fingers around his palm she tried to share whatever small amount of body heat they still had left, before turning to the rest of the group.

"Come on; let's go back in, it's freezing!" and none of them disagreed.

James slumped, leaning his head onto his palm wrapping his fingers under his chin as he pinched the thin skin on his wrist in an attempt to keep his eyes open during this particularly boring lesson of History of Magic. Lily smiled, that was exactly what she was doing last night to stay awake. Sirius however, was hyperactive. He was wide awake, although taking notes was the last thing on his mind – flicking paper missiles at unsuspecting members of the class was his game. Lily wondered how Sirius could be so wide awake, but then again he did have the energy reserves of a four year old! Anyone would think he'd have spent the whole night in his room asleep not running round the forest with a werewolf, if it wasn't for the purplish bags which hung under his grey eyes that is. Remus, who to their relief felt well enough to re-join the class, was trying to take detailed notes as Professor Binns spoke, as well as simultaneously ignoring the aching in his joints and the banging inside his head; how he could still be awake was still a mystery to Lily. Seeing James' eye lids droop and then jerk wide open again was fairly amusing to Lily who smiled sweetly as she continued to take notes. Peter however had given up listening and was laid flat out on the desk next to Remus fast asleep, snoring lightly. Alice and Frank on the desk next to Lily and Hestia's snickered quietly as Peter twitched in his sleep in a very rat like manner.

"And that was how the Goblin's lost the fourth Goblin war." Professor Binns Droned, even Lily could feel her eyes closing.

The relief she felt when the lesson was over was immense, going back to the common room to sleep, seemed a great idea!

"Jessica!" Alice exclaimed as she climbed through the portrait hole to see Jessica sat on the sofa in front of the fire still dressed in her pyjamas reading _Quidditch through the ages_. Throwing herself at her best friend, Alice flung her arms round Jessica's neck and squeezed her tight. Pain spread through Jessica's chest from the cracked rib which was healing slowly, but she tried to ignore it as she hugged her friend tightly.

"Don't hurt my seeker!" James shouted after Alice and caused Jessica to giggle as she pulled out of the hug. "I need her to win the quidditch cup!" he added with a wink.

"You feeling any better?" Sirius asked and Jessica nodded. Remus stayed at the back of the group, he didn't know how Jessica would react to him being there. The whole group had been filled in on Jessica's accident throughout the day from James or Sirius, Hestia wondered how Jessica could even open her eyes, let alone walk around, if it had been her she'd she be in the hospital wing milking it for all she had. Sensing Remus' feelings of tension Lily faked a yawn.

"Think I'm going to go up for a nap before dinner, you coming girls?" She said. Hestia and Alice didn't know what she was talking about but nodded and followed her up the stairs to heir dormitory. James realising what Lily was trying to do, nodded as well and grabbed hold of Sirius and Peter's wrists pulling them up the other stairwell towards their room, despite their protests to leave Remus and Jessica alone.

"Sooo…" Remus started, as he settled in the chair next to Jessica, feeling quite sick at the prospect of having to face her.

"So." She replied, looking up at him. The hurt was evident in her eyes, he'd hurt her and he couldn't cope with it.

"Jessica I'm so sorry I didn't tell you, I just didn't want you to hate me, think I'm a monster." Remus rambled, but Jessica silenced him with a finger his lips.

"I don't hate you, I never have done and I never could. No you're not a monster, you have a condition." She smiled slightly as she pulled her hand away from his mouth. "I _do_ want us to be together Remus, but I've been thinking today, I can't be with someone who lies to me. Do you understand?" she asked her voice serious. The seriousness of her voice unnerved Remus lightly, he was so used to happy smiley Jessica, so much that serious Jessica came as a shock, but he nodded; he'd ruined his chance, he and Jessica could never be together.

"But I want us to still be friends Remus." She added, tears spilling from her eyes, but she wiped them away as quickly as she could. Remus nodded and forced his mouth into a smile. She nodded lightly, letting a stray tear roll down her cheek. "I'm just gonna go…" she said, gesturing for the stairwell. Remus nodded numbly as he watched her leave. As her footstep faded, Remus let out a sigh. He'd ruined his chance and that was it.

He looked up at the ceiling and stared. And that was how the rest of the marauders found him on their way down the dinner.

**Author's note: It's a short chapter because after I lost the other version I didn't have the heart to write a longer one, I'll try and make the next chapter a bit longer to make up for it. So here's your update you can stop telling me off for not updating quick enough now! Hahaa remember to review! **


	24. Home

**Author's note: So in the world of the Marauders, it's nearly Christmas, I'm getting a little bit jealous. I wish it was Christmas now, but it's July… Hmmmm…. Remember to review!**

Chapter 24:

"Do you want to spend Christmas at mine?" James asked after a few moments of silence. He'd been working up the nerve to ask Lily to stay with him over Christmas for the whole of their patrol. Feeling a smile tug at her mouth Lily couldn't help but grin.

"I'd love to James." Lily replied, kissing his cheek. Feeling blush creep across his cheeks, James beamed.

"Good, because my parents really want to meet you!" James added, seeing Lily's face drop at the prospect of meeting the Potter's, he looked amused. "You want to meet them right?" James asked, his face still smiling.

"Yes… but I just hadn't thought about that…" Lily trailed off, then she had an idea to wipe James' unfurling smirk off his face. "But you have to spend some time at my house with my parents… over New Year." Lily added and she laughed loudly as James' face dropped and he suddenly looked violently sick.

"But your dad will want to kill me…" James moaned, covering his face with his hands and shaking his head.

"He won't! Why would he want to do that?" Lily protested, not quite seeing James' point, but being amused all the same. Trying valiantly to pry James' hands from his face she had no avail.

"Well because you're the youngest so you're his baby, and he's going to think I've taken away your innocence or something…" James muttered in reply, his hands still covering his face.

"But James we haven't…" Lily trailed off, her face blushing slightly. Luckily the corridor was empty so no-one, not even James whose hands were still covering his face, could see her blush.

"Yes, but your dad doesn't know that! For all he knows I've unflowered his Lily flower." James replied his face dead pan, hands slung lazily by his sides; Lily on the other hand couldn't help but laugh loudly.

"He won't though, he's not like that." Lily added once she'd regained her composure. Standing on her tip toes she kissed James on his cheek and smiled reassuringly.

"Come on, I'm bored of patrol now, there's no-one here so let's go back to the common room."

"Hey James, I owled your mum and she said Hestia can stay at ours for Christmas!" Sirius exclaimed excitedly, through mouthfuls of food which he was shovelling into his face. Honestly how could someone eat so early in the morning! Lily felt quite sick watching Sirius fill his mouth with breakfast treats.

"Lily's staying too." James replied, buttering a slice of toast, his second to be exact, Lily who was sat next to him had stolen his first slice. She was smirking and eyeing up the second piece but decided against it when she saw the protective look James had as he scraped the knife across the slice of cooked bread spreading butter like a tidal wave. Feeling slightly disappointed, she began to butter her own, although she wasn't really hungry, it was just fun to steal James' food.

"Me too." Remus added, slipping down into the spare seat next to Sirius and opposite James at the breakfast table. "You mum sent me an owl this morning and asked me to stay, of which I graciously accepted." Remus grinned, stealing James' slice of toast. Throwing his arms up in the air in exasperation, James sighed loudly, he was never going to eat any toast!

"Here darling." Lily said, handing her slice of buttered toast, she'd taken a bite out of one of the corner, but he accepted, it was the best he was going to get. Lily was thankful that she'd given James the toast, if not she would have had to leave it on her plate, a prospect which thoroughly offended Sirius. _'HOW CAN YOU LEAVE FOOD!'_ he would scream, and Lily could not be doing with that at this time of the morning.

"So Marauders Christmas at Chez Potter!" Sirius shouted throwing his arms up in the air in excitement, several students from the other tables, turned round to stare, some laughed, most realised it Sirius' voice and dismissed this as normal behaviour.

"But not New Year." Lily interrupted. Sirius looked confused, he didn't understand. "James is spending new year at my house." Lily finished with a smile, James however looked terrified. Seeing the look on his friends face, Sirius burst out into cackles of raucous laughter, holding his sides to prevent them from splitting under the force of his laughter.

"Oh that is funny! Poor Prongs! Good luck man!" Sirius managed to squeak in between cackles. Wiping an imaginary tear from his eye he managed to regain a certain amount of composure, only to receive a scowl from Hestia.

"Don't laugh Sirius." Hestia cut in. "That what you're doing, except at my house." And with that the laughter stopped abruptly, and was replaced by a look of pure terror.

"You break my leg, I'll break yours?" Sirius asked James, his face completely serious.

"Deal!" James shouted, shaking his best friend's hand vigorously.

"Well then I'll heal you both because you're not getting out of this." Lily replied, not even bothering to look up from her breakfast, which she was pushing round her plate with her fork, deciding whether to finish off the last bit of sausage or not. James and Sirius sighed; there was no getting out of this.

Remus was enjoying this, Lily and Hestia were torturing Sirius and James, which was incredibly funny. Although he couldn't help but feel lonely when he saw Frank and Alice whispering sweet nothings to each other and giggling at each other as he planted kisses on her nose, the way Sirius curled his arm round Hestia's waist and they grinned at each other, their faces only an inch apart, and the way Lily and James looked at each other, there didn't even need to be nay words, it was all expressed in a look. Then there was Jess. Sat at the end of their group, opposite peter who seemed oblivious to anything going on (he was spending Christmas with his parents in the South of France), absently stirring a bowl of cold porridge, evidently feeling the same as Remus, he sighed as he stared longingly at her, then looked down at his breakfast, eating to fill the void that was left in his chest when he looked at her.

She could feel Remus' eyes on her; she tried to ignore it and the aching in her chest. She wanted to be with him so badly, but she just couldn't… if he'd told her about his condition she would have accepted him, even understood why he kept it a secret, but lying to her she couldn't forgive. As Remus turned back to his breakfast and Jessica willed herself to cheer up, tomorrow was Christmas Eve after all and all her lessons were finished, and later that day she'd be on the Hogwarts express home to spend a Christmas with her family. Who needed a stupid boy when she had her grandparents and two brothers? They were all she needed… or so she tried to convince herself.

"Jamsie!" Mrs Potter squealed, throwing her arms round her son's neck. "I've missed you so much!" taken aback slightly the sudden force slamming into his body, it took James a few seconds to realise that the force was indeed his mother and for him to hug her back.

"Correction – _we've_ missed you." Mr Potter smiled as he clapped his son on the back once his wife had finished hugging James to death. "And you must be Lily." Mr Potter smiled, sensing the nervousness of the red head stood slightly behind James.

"Lily Evans Sir, nice to meet you." Lily replied forcing her mouth into a smile.

"No need to call me Sir, call me Edward, and this is my wife Sarah." Edward Potter said gesturing towards his wife who was staring at Lily which great interest.

"Lily!" Sarah squealed, flinging her arms around Lily's shoulders. "We've heard so much about you!" she squeezed. Releasing Lily from her hug, Lily smiled a genuine smile this time. She really liked the Potter's; she'd only met them a minute ago and already they were some of her favourite people, they were so likeable – Edward with his messy black hair, just like James and light blue eyes which seemed slightly too pale for his tanned face, and Sarah with her coppery locks, pulled back in a loose ponytail which hung halfway down her back and hazel eyes, the same eyes as James, framed by red rimmed glasses, evidently James had inherited more than his mother's eye colour but also her appalling eye sight too. They were older than Lily expected, looking in their late forties, perhaps even fifties, it was clear James was a child who had come later in their lives, which explained why she had been so spoilt and proud in his earlier years at Hogwarts.

"DADDY POTTER!" Sirius yelled as he exited the scarlet train, breaking part the introductions between Lily and the Potter's. Running towards the small group assembled on the station platform, Sirius enveloped Edward into a bear hug, and laughed lightly as he ruffled Sirius' hair. Edward must have meant a lot to Sirius who didn't complain about his ruined hairstyle but grinned appreciatively.

"Nice to see you too Sirius." Sarah smiled.

"You too Sarah." Sirius replied, hugging her too. "and this," he added turning side wards on so he half faced the train and half faced the Potter's, "is my girlfriend Hestia Jones."

"Nice to meet you Hestia." Sarah smiled.

"Same here!" Edward grinned, reaching gout his hand and clasping Hestia's hand, and shaking it lightly.

"Right let's get back to the house then! I want to hear all about your first term at Hogwarts!" Sarah squealed.

"Alright Sarah, calm down." Edward laughed, patting his wife's arm. "You've all got apparition licenses I presume?" Edward asked the 7th years who all nodded, they'd taken their tests the previous year and all passed on the first try. "Right, well grab your bags and we'll be off!" and with that they all turned on the spot and Lily felt a familiar tugging sensation behind her navel. With a small crack the whole group had disappeared.

They arrived outside Potter Mansion a moment later. Sky the colour of charcoal threatened the throw its contents all over the four students and the two parents. Edward tapped his wand on top what looked like a sensor pad, and tapped away a few more times, his wand tapping different sections in a seemingly random order, but Lily knew it must be a password to get into the house. Then suddenly before the last part of the password could be put in, Edward and Sarah turned to each other pointing their wands threateningly at each other's faces.

"What did you want to call our son?" Edward demanded.

"Norville. What happened you proposed to me?" Sarah answered and then questioned.

"In a tree on New Year's Day – the ring fell out of my and then I fell after it, you screamed yes after me as I fell." Edward replied, then they lowered their wands. "Sorry about that kids," Edward said apologetically. "You can't be too careful these days, had to check we were who we said we were. You lot should think up security questions for each other too…" Edward added bitterly before returning to the sensor pad and finishing off the password. Another few seconds and the gate swung open, letting them inside. Lily was greeted to the sight of a long drive way, edged by oak trees leading up to a spectacular house. It looked just like the stately homes Lily had visited all around the countryside when she was younger. It vaguely reminded Lily of Buckingham palace, it was the same shape and colour, although admittedly it was smaller, but Lily didn't care it was beautiful. Staring on in amazement, James chuckled slightly at the two girls stares, Hestia was staring opening and shutting her mouth but no sound came out, she reminded them a goldfish.

"Come on." Sarah laughed, starting up the path towards her house, Edward hot on her tail, followed by Sirius and Hestia, Lily and James lagging behind.

"I can't believe you live here!" Lily exclaimed. "It's beautiful!"

"It's just home." James shrugged, but a grin spread across his face, his home was pretty spectacular.

"Why did we have to apparate outside?" Lily asked, the question had been bugging her since she arrived.

"There's an anti-apparition charm on the house. No-one can apparate in or out, once inside apparate all you want but you can't get over the threshold." James explained and Lily nodded, it made sense. "My parents are both aurors you see; they're pretty big on security, that's why we have such a long password on the gate and all the charms. We did have a death eater get in here once… that's why mum and dad are so careful, luckily no-one was hurt but because I was in the house they got freaked out, went a bit security mad."

"You were in the house?" Lily squeaked, suddenly feeling quite sick, she could understand why Sarah and Edward could get so worried about their only son – he could after all be pretty reckless. Taking her hand reassuringly James smiled.

"I was out in the garden practising quidditch, I didn't even know what was happening until I heard a bang and when I came in mum and dad had a masked death eater tied up in our front room. I was like 14, so this was incredibly exciting!" James exclaimed. "Then some guards came and carted him off to Azkahban, mum thinks he was after me, dad thinks he was after ministry secrets, no-one really knows…" Lily nodded. At least James hadn't been anywhere near when the break in happened, and she wasn't surprised Edward and Sarah had become security conscious, they were aurors after all, that was their job. At this point Lily and James had reached the house and were being ushered inside by Sarah who was convinced they'd catch their death of cold if they stayed out there any longer, and no sooner had they stopped over the threshold had it began to snow.

"A white Christmas!" Hestia squealed, clapping her hands and jumping up and down with glee.

"Looks like it will be!" Sirius beamed, he loved Christmas almost as much as food – and that was saying something.

"Max!" Edward called out and with a crack a small house elf appeared, bowing slightly as he arrived.

"Max for goodness sake, how many times have we said not to bow to us!" Sarah mock chided and the house elf smiled.

"Max lives to serve the house of Potter, how may I be off assistance?" Max replied. Lily noted he was a fairly young house elf; his skin wasn't as wrinkled or weathered as some of the other house elves she'd seen, he also looked well fed, he had a fat little belly that wobbles lightly as he spoke. He had big brown eyes which reminded Lily of a puppy dog.

"Can you take the girls up to their room please?" Edward asked with a smile, as he took the girls coats and hung them up on the hooks next to the front door. Lily was pleased to see they treated their house elf well; she'd heard about how Sirius' family had treated their house elves and shuddered at the thought of Max being treated that way.

"We could do that mum!" James interrupted.

"Yes, but we need to have a talk – both of you." Edward replied, his face quite stern, there was no getting out of this. James and Sirius exchanged confused glances but shrugged and followed Edward and Sarah who were walking towards what looked like a sitting room.

"Are these your bags?" Max asked, gesturing to the two suitcases at the girls feet. Hestia nodded and Max snapped his fingers together, and the bags disappeared, presumably up to their room.

"Follow me please Miss Lily and Miss Hestia." Max said as he began to walk up the corridor and up a set of stairs. Hestia giggled.

"I could get used to this!"

"Right sit down boys." Sarah gestured towards one of the sofas in the living room. Sirius and James obediently sat down, staring at the parents who seemed slightly uncomfortable. "I'm going to make a pot of tea." Sarah added, making her excuses and leaving the room. James' eyes followed his mother as she exited the room and listened as her footsteps led towards the kitchen down the hall.

"Right well boys…" Edwards started. "I know you're growing up now and you've got girlfriends…"

"Oh please don't us _the_ talk dad!" James wailed, covering his face with his hands. Sirius looked at his feet, not quite believing this was happening.

"I'm sorry, I have too, Sarah's making me…" Edward trailed off, his face flushing slightly. "Look I'm not going to go into ins and outs but make sure you're safe alright?" Edward asked, starting to look as uncomfortable as the boys, who nodded numbly, trying to block the memory of this conversation from their minds. After a moment of awkward silence, Edward stood up.

"I'm going to go check on that tea…" and with that he left the room. Once he was safely out of ear shot, Sirius turned to James who was still wearing an expression of disgust, surprise and embarrassment.

"Please say that did not happen?" James asked, still staring at the blank wall opposite.

"I'm afraid it did." Sirius grimaced. James groaned.

"We never speak a word of this to anyone?" James asked, turning to face Sirius. Holding out his hand, Sirius shook it enthusiastically.

"Done!"

"This room is gorgeous!" Hestia squealed throwing herself onto the closest bed and clapping her hands joyfully. Lily grinned, the room truly was gorgeous. Painted cream with red and gold decoration, it positively screamed 'Gryffindor.' The ceiling too was painted cream with delicate gold and scarlet swirls covering it and descending down the tops of the walls slightly to frame the room. Two beds stood against the left wall, four posters with curtains the colour of rubies, pulled tightly at the bed posts to show the cream bedding and golden detail on the oak head boards. Then there was the view! It rivalled the view from their bedroom back in their dormitory in Gryffindor tower. Looking out over the entire Potter estate Lily smiled at the quidditch pitch at the far end which she could imagine a young James whizzing round on his very first broom and the flower garden nearer the house. As well as a swimming pool on the other side which Lily highly doubted she'd get in as the temperature was currently below freezing. Then there was the endless amount of grass and small buildings to explore as well as what looked like a cave at the back. Christmas at Chez Potter was going to be great. Lily was distracted from staring out the large window at the far end of the room by Hestia who was busily opening and shutting the two wardrobes to see which was the biggest.

"Hestia, they're the same size!" Lily giggled, seeing the concentration on Hestia's face as she tried to work out which was the larger wardrobe.

"Are you sure? This one seems bigger…" Hestia replied, gesturing to the one on the left.

"I'm sure." Lily laughed as she flopped down onto her bed, the one closest to the window and inhaling the smell of the Potter household. Sitting up she leant back on her elbows and smiled to herself when she saw the size of Hestia's suitcase.

"This is going to take me years to unpack!" Hestia whined. It was true, with the endless amount of clothes, hair accessories and shoes Hestia had packed, no forgetting her rather large make up case, it would take her an age to unpack. Chuckling, Lily sat up and crossed her legs, pulling her wand out of the pocket in her school robes, which they were still wearing, and flicked in the direction of Hestia's suitcase and then at the wardrobe. The clothes flew out and hung themselves son hangers, the shoes landed at the bottom, paired up with the laces tied in neat bows and her make up box placed neatly on the shelf at the top along with her hairbrush, deodorants, perfumes and a rather large can of hair spray.

"Thank you Lily! You're the best!" Hestia squealed. With a flick of her wand, Lily did her suitcase too and grinned at her ingenious solution. Then she flicked her wand at Hestia who's school robes changed into a pair of dark denim skinny jeans and white vest top and then at herself who's school robes changed into a pair of black leggings and a loose fitting white jumper which hung to a couple of inches below her waist – it was comfortable and yet practical. Smiling at their outfits, Hestia obviously approved.

"What should our security question be?" Hestia asked, twirling a strand of hair around her finger.

"I don't know…" Lily mused.

"How about something only us two know?" Hestia offered.

"But what?" Lily replied, wracking her brain for a suggestion.

"How about your favourite colour?" Hestia suggested.

"Too many people know that, and plus yours changes every week anyway!" Lily scoffed. Hestia nodded, it was true, last week it had been blue, this week she was in a more yellow mood.

"How about the first words we said to each other?" Hestia said after a minute of silent thinking.

"Yes!" Lily exclaimed. "Perfect! The first thing you said to me was that I reminded you of Christmas with red hair and green eyes." She smiled remembering the memory.

"And then you said no-one had ever said that before and I'd be fun to have around. SORTED!" Hestia replied.

"Now come on, let's go find the boys!" Lily grinned, slipping off her bed as she grabbed Hestia's hand and pulled her out of the room, down the stairs and down to the sitting room where the boys were sat, still in complete silence.

**Authors note: I'm just going to put it out there… I WANT TO LIVE AT POTTER MANSION. There, now my rant is out the way… ooh and I house elf would be cool too! Heheee anyway hope you liked it! Remember to review!**


	25. Christmas Tree

**Authors note: This chapter is just basically James and Lily fluff – but I l fluff so it's staying in :D plus it passes the day! Hehee and it enjoyed writing it! xxx**

Chapter 25: Christmas tree

"Sorry kids." Edward said apologetically.

"We've been called out to a raid in the next county, we have to go. See you soon." Sarah added, her voice slightly strained, the stress of the job and all the attacks, showing in her voice. Pulling her husband towards the door, she let go of his hand ran down to gate to apparate the auror headquarters at the ministry of magic.

"Be safe!" Edward called out as he too ran out the door after his wife. This seemingly innocent warning to the boys made them blush profusely. Lily and Hestia looked at each other completely confused.

"What?" Hestia asked, trying to wrangle an answer out of either boy, fixing them with an intent glare, staring into their face one at a time.

"Nothing!" James squeaked, his voice an octave higher than usual.

"When's Remus getting here?" Hestia asked a moment later when she realised the boys were not going to answer her.

"Tomorrow morning, he had to see his parents before he could come here." Sirius answered his face still slightly red. Hestia nodded; she opened her mouth to speak but was cut off by a loud crack. Turning to face the noise, Lily was greeted with the sight of the house elf Max.

"Dinner will now be served Master Potter." And with a low bow, he apparated out.

"Grubs up!" Sirius said gleefully, rubbing his hands together. Sirius made for the door, but Hestia put a firm hand on his shoulder to stop him dead in his tracks.

"Shouldn't we wait for Edward and Sarah?" she questioned.

"It's alright, they could be gone until tomorrow, we should eat now." James replied with a smile, although it didn't reach his eyes. The group all looked expectantly at Hestia.

"Go on!" she laughed as James and Sirius raced out the room and down the hall towards the dining room. Linking her arm through her best friend's, Hestia grinned.

"May I escort you to dinner m'lady?"

"I would be honoured!" Lily giggled as they followed the boys down towards the dining room.

After a large course of rich lasagne and chips with garlic bread, the group were filled to bursting. Hestia had loosened his belt buckle to allow for more food, James was groaning and rubbing his stomach, Lily was wondering if she'd ever be able to walk again or if she'd have to roll and Sirius… well he was still shovelling another slice of garlic bread into his mouth without a second thought.

"This dinner is amazing." Hestia gushed. "I wish I could eat more!" she moaned.

"Max is a great cook." James mused. With the mention of his name, Max appeared beside Lily's chair, causing her to jump out of her seat, she hadn't expected the house elf to appear so close! James giggled and Hestia covered her mouth with her hand to cover a smirk, Lily gave them death glares – that was not funny.

"I'm sorry for scaring you Miss Lily." Max apologised, his eyes scanning the table at the empty plates. "Are you all finished?" he asked. The group all nodded and Sirius looked thoroughly offended.

"NOOOOO!" Sirius yelled protectively, cradling his arms around his plate. Max looked confused; his eyes crossed a little as if in deep thought.

"Yes Max, we are all finished." Hestia said firmly. Sirius leant back in his chair and crossed his arms in front of his chest, sulking. With a click of Max's spindly fingers the plates were gone, much to Sirius' disappointment.

"Would you like dessert?" the house elf asked.

"I'm too full Max." Hestia groaned, clutching her stomach.

"Me too max, don't think I could eat another thing." Lily concluded.

"Sirius will have some though." James grinned.

"You know me so well prongs!" Sirius replied with a beam. Max smiled and disappeared.

Once Sirius had finished his generous portion of apple crumble with custard – which looked amazing, and everyone else had drooled just looking at it, everyone was finished and waddled through to the living room where they all collapsed onto sofa's, full to burst.

"You know what we should do now?" Sirius asked, after a few minutes.

"What?" Hestia and Lily asked in unison. The boys smiled at their togetherness, the girls didn't seem to have noticed, they'd been friends for so long that saying things at the same time or finishing each other's sentences was a normal occurrence.

"We should decorate the Christmas tree!" he replied proudly.

"That is actually quite a good idea Padfoot." James mused, and a minute later the room was swamped with glittering baubles and strips of tinsel shimmering in the light. A large tree stood in the corner of the room, it was almost as large as the ones Hagrid got for the Great hall at Hogwarts, Lily had no idea where James could have got it from!

"Me first!" Hestia giggled, picking up a string of fairy lights and twirling through the branches of the tree. Lily noted how none of the needles of the tree came loose when Hestia positioned the lights throughout the tree, Lily wondered why; on her tree at home, you couldn't even brush past it without spraying pine needles all over the room and by New Year the tree had dropped so many of its needles that it looked naked.

"Why don't the needles fall off James?" Lily asked, still trying to work it out.

"Lily, I'm a wizard. Does that answer your question?" James smirked. Lily blushed slightly, of course it was magic! How could she not know that? Luckily for her Sirius hadn't heard her, he was too busy arguing with Hestia where the silver tinsel should go, at the bottom or top. James scooched up on the sofa and put his arm around Lily, pulling her closer to him. Gently pressing a kiss onto her temple, Lily smiled.

"My little muggle." He whispered into her ear as his kissed down her jawline and the top of her neck causing her whole body to erupt with goose bumps.

"I resent that." Lily whispered back, laughing lightly.

"What muggle or kisses?" James whispered, his voice tickling her ear and causing her to squirm into James' lap, who wrapped his arms round her tightly.

"Both." she said defiantly, trying to wriggle out of James' grip.

"Not so fast Lily-kins, you have to stay here with me forever!" James grinned, tickling her across her stomach, causing her to scream out.

"James!" Lily screamed, hitting his hands to stop him tickling her. Sirius and Hestia turned round and smirked.

"Remember James, be safe." Sirius laughed. James eyes widened and he loosened his grip around Lily's waist as his face flushed scarlet. Sighing a sigh of relief, Lily leant back against James' body, thankful the tickling was over, so much so that she didn't see James' face blush, Hestia's confusion or Sirius' smirk.

"Come on." Lily said a minute later, pulling James up from the sofa! "Let's decorate the tree!" the tinsel and lights were done and were sparkling away, but the baubles were still sat in the box, glittering as she approached. Lifting up a silver bauble with blue detail, she placed it on one of the middle branches.

20 minutes later the whole tree was covered in a blanket of baubles, in fact the actual tree was barely visible underneath all the baubles which dangled from every branch and glinted in the dim light as the sun set.

"I want to put the star on top!" Hestia squealed, grabbing the six pointed star from the bottom of the box of Christmas decorations, a few lone baubles rolled around the bottom, not having the space on the tree they'd have to stay there until next year.

"Alright, come here." Sirius said, lifting Hestia up around her waist. Squealing, she leant up to the top of the tree and delicately placed the star on the top most branches, swiping baubles away with her hand so she could actually put it on. The four of them stood back and admired their masterpiece, it glittered and sparkled like it was made of crystal, Hestia let out a sigh as she revelled at how beautiful it looked.

"Looks good." Sirius concluded.

"Indeed!" Lily replied with a grin.

"Now I want a tour of the house! Lead the way Sirius, we'll see you later guys!" Hestia waved as she whisked Sirius out of the room and to the floor above by the sound of their feet pounding on the stairs.

"I don't even want to know what they're doing!" Lily sighed. James managed a chuckle, but it seemed forced. Slumping down into the sofa, he ran his hand through his hair and let out a long deep breath. Lily flopped down next to him and laid her head on his chest, snuggling in close to him. After a while of just sitting there in silence enjoying each other's company, James was still on edge. Edward and Sarah had only been gone an hour and a half and yet James was already jittery. He insisted he was fine, but he couldn't sit still, fidgeting in his seat was something James did when he was nervous, and right now he was virtually jumping up and down.

"They'll be fine James." Lily soothed, sitting up and stroking a stray piece of James' hair which stuck out.

"But will they? How do you know?" James snapped. As soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted them. He'd shouted at Lily and the hurt in her eyes made him feel sick with guilt. "I'm sorry Lily." He apologised, pulling her in close. She nuzzled her head into the crevice between his neck and shoulder, breathing in his familiar scent. Stroking her hair as it fell over her shoulders, he lightly kissed her cheek. "I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have snapped."

Pulling away, she smiled and pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear.

"It's okay, I understand James. You're worried, I get that."

"You're perfect, you know that?" James smiled. Pulling her face close to his with a hand on the back of her neck, he kissed her deeply. Their bodies were only an inch apart and Lily pushed herself closer to James, closing the gap. Running her hand through his hair, she leant back, pulling him down on top of her. Laughing slightly, his mouth still against hers. Slowly he moved his lips away from hers and kissed along her jawline, she let out a small moan of pleasure, James grinned. Continuing the line of her jaw, he kissed down her neck planting feather light kisses as he went. Shivering with pleasure, Lily knew they had to stop.

"James…" she whispered, a tingle of excitement spreading through her body like a tidal wave.

"Hmmm?" he replied, returning to her jawline and moving towards her mouth, his hand running up the side of her leg and torso, feeling every curve of her body underneath his light touch.

"We have to stop." She managed, pushing him off her slightly. Sitting up, he kept an arm round her waist so she remained close to him.

"Why ever is that Lily Evans?" James grinned, planting a kiss on her nose. She frowned at the use of her full name but carried on nevertheless.

"Well if your parents were to walk in now, what they think?" James grimaced at the thought, he was pretty open with his parents, but that was going a bit too far.

"Plus if we go any further, we wouldn't be able to stop ourselves…" Lily added, blushing slightly. James smirked.

"And would that be such a bad thing?" he whispered into her ear.

"James!" Lily shrieked, both of them giggling.

"I know, I get it." He smiled, stroking her hair, he still looked uneasy.

"Are you worried about your parents?" Lily asked softly.

"They go on missions like this all the time, and they're bloody good aurors." James concluded, almost bitterly. His hazel eyes filled with sadness. The fairy lights on the tree were reflected in James' glass, making his eyes dance. The fire crackled away, filling the room with orange light and casting strange shaped shadows around the room as the furniture blocked its reach.

"That's not what I asked." Lily teased.

"Fine, I'm worried, I feel sick just thinking about it."

And with that silence fell, Lily didn't know what to say. She couldn't tell him everything would be okay, because it might not be, his parents had a dangerous job, a very dangerous job; they put their lives on the line every day to save the rest of the wizarding world. And in that moment Lily understood how important a job being an auror was. She wondered what it would be like if she was in James' position and her parents were going out to fight dark forces who wanted them dead – she choked back a sob; she didn't think she'd be able to cope with worry. Her parents were a florist and a gardener – much safer professions.

They just sat there entwined with each other for Merlin knows how long. When Lily's eyes lazily drifted over to the clock, she was surprised to see it was nearly midnight.

"Come on James – we should go to bed." She suggested, poking James in the ribs with her elbow, he was snoring lightly, his eyes closed.

"What? Hmmm?" he asked groggily.

"Bed." Lily instructed.

"Are my parents' home yet?" James asked, still keeping a tight hold of Lily.

"No." Lily replied, not daring to look at James' face for fear of seeing the disappointment and worry evident in those big hazel spheres.

"I'm worried…" he replied.

"I know darling, I know…" Lily trailed off, gently stroking James' cheek with her thumb.

"Can I stay with you tonight?" James asked. Lily was inclined to say no, but seeing the pain in James' eyes, she couldn't decline.

"Of course." She said, kissing his cheek.

Pushing open the door to hers and Hestia's room, Lily was not surprised to find Hestia's bed empty, she'd probably still be with Sirius, Lily mused. The fire was still burning brightly, its flames dancing round the hearth. Lily took out her wand and tapped her clothing and it changed into a pair of loose fitting black shorts and a white vest top, she didn't fancy getting dressed in front of James; who pulled off his shirt and Lily felt her eyes scan over his rippling muscles as he took off his shirt, of course she'd seen James' muscles before, but she still wouldn't turn down another look. James however was unaware of Lily's wandering eyes as he pulled off her quilt and settled inside, still wearing his grey trackies that he'd been wearing all day, his shirt absently abandoned on the floor. Lily slipped in beside him as he wrapped his arms around her.

"I love you Lily."

"I love you James." But Lily doubted he heard her, he was already snoring lightly, his breath tickling her face. Smiling to herself, she settled down to sleep.

**Author's note: Lots of James/Lily fluff! Hope you liked it though… Remember to review if you liked it! I've already written the next chapter and probably some more by the time I upload this so hopefully my updates will be quicker from now on! *crosses fingers* TTFN!**

**PS if you've got twitter, give me a follow Pro_Flitwick :D**


	26. Bad News

**Chapter 26: Bad News**

**Authors note: how's that for a quick update? I've written the next two chapters already, I've just got to edit them and get them ready to go up which shouldn't take long, I've also written a few snippets for along the way and I'm having such a great time writing those, little funny moments between the Marauders, and there's a very funny (well me and my friend Molly -HI MOLLY! - think so!) moment when Sirius writes a letter to someone… although that's nearer the end of the year. So read and review! Thank you **

"Remus!" a female voice squealed, one that sounded suspiciously like his mother, woke James and Lily the next morning. Waking up with a start, James' eyes searched around the unfamiliar room, and for a few moments he couldn't work out where he was, that was until a very groggy Lily rolled into him and groaned, then he remembered. He'd spent the night with Lily after he'd been so worried about his parents.

"Too early." Lily moaned, covering her eyes with her hands, shutting out the light that filtered in from the large window, curtains now drawn, Max had been in early this morning and lit the fire which was now burning brightly and the curtains were tied with gold ribbons, letting light flood into the room.

"Lily its nine o'clock and I'm guessing Remus is here." James said checking the clock beside Lily's bed. Shaking her slightly, James smirked as she took the hands from her face and pouted.

"Fine." She replied sitting up in the bed and stretching her hands high above her head.

"Good morning to you too." James smiled; pulling her in for a much more enthusiastic kiss than Lily was expecting at this time in the morning, but she returned it just as enthusiastically nevertheless.

"Well Good morning Mr Potter." Lily grinned, pulling away. James however kept his hand tangled up in Lily's unruly red curls. Twirling his fingers through her curls, his hand loosened itself from her hair and stroking down her face, his fingers delicately tracing her jaw bone.

"I want every day to be like this." He mused. Lily slipped off the bed with a grin, and pulled her hair up into a messy bun.

"What, being woken up by someone screaming?" she teased.

"No. waking up next to you." James replied, getting off the bed and clasping his hands loosely around Lily's waist. Lily didn't quite know what to say, she hadn't thought about that before, but she wanted that too. James leant down and kissed her nose.

"You're speechless; I would be too if I'd just spent a whole night in bed with me." James added cockily, pulling her closer to him. At that point Lily found her voice.

"Oi!" she giggled, slapping at James' bare chest to try and free herself from his grip. James just laughed and released her.

"Hit me, I don't mind!" he chided sarcastically and Lily smirked.

"Good." She replied, pulling on her dressing gown as James pulled on yesterday's shirt which was still lying in a crumpled heap on the floor.

"Breakfast?" James asked and Lily nodded enthusiastically as her stomach rumbled. Pulling James out the room and down the stairs at an alarming pace, James had to do a double take and make sure that he wasn't with Sirius.

"Remus!" Lily squealed as she opened the door to the dining room to see the third marauder sat at the table in deep conversation with Edward about the properties of some sort of herb which Lily didn't catch the name of. Turning to face the sound of the noise, Remus smiled at the sight of the red head.

"Lils!" he squealed back – making Sirius snort, causing the milk he was drinking to splutter out his mouth and nose. A silent scourgify charm and a disgusted look from Remus cleared that up right away. Lily ran over to her friend and hugged him tight. Pulling away from the hug, James clapped his friend on the back.

"Nice to see you mate." James said, gladly taking the cup of coffee his father was holding out for him, he needed a morning coffee to wake him up.

"You too Prongs." Remus replied, turning round to face Sirius who was shovelling scrambled egg on toast into his mouth at a rate that Lily found quite disgusting, he wasn't eating the food, he was inhaling it.

"Where's Hestia?" Lily asked, spotting her friend was absent.

"She's still in bed." Sirius answered, barely stopping from his inhalation of food to speak.

"Well, not her own bed, that hasn't been slept in." Lily replied, an eyebrow raised.

"Well neither did James." Sirius remarked, causing Lily and James to flush scarlet.

Edward who's ears had turned a startling shade of pink was feeling increasingly uncomfortable, he made his excuses and left the room, only to be replaced by Hestia who as it turned out had been stood outside the door and heard Lily's comment.

"Bless, you've made Edward all embarrassed now!" she chided with a grin. Lily returned the grin and pulled her friend in for a hug.

"You could have come in and stopped me!" Lily giggled.

"But it was funny!" Hestia protested. James, who was still red faced, rolled his eyes.

"It was so not funny!" James whined, dragging his hand through his hair, messing it up even further. Hestia opened her mouth to protest but was cut off by Sirius, who finished eating his breakfast had decided how they would spent their morning.

"SNOWBALL FIGHT!" Sirius yelled, and with a flick of his wand the five of them were changed out of their pyjamas and into thick pairs of jeans with woolly jumpers, snow boots and parker coats. Lily smiled as she held up the edge of her scarf, red and gold stripes.

"Nice touch Sirius." James admired.

"I know!" Sirius shouted, his volume gage set to maximum. "Now come on, I want to beat you all at a snowball war!"

Crouching behind the broom shed, Hestia and Lily tried to remain as silent as possible, the snow ball fight had turned into girls against boys all-out war, and they were currently losing. The boys were too good, they knew all the tricks, anything the girls did they had a comeback, even when Lily smushed cold snow into Remus' face, they had a counter attack ready which come in the form of a wet snowball down her back from Sirius, they'd had waaaaaayyyy too much practice at this.

"Right, so here's the plan:" Hestia said after a few minutes of heavy breathing, the boys had chased them all around the garden bombarding them with snowball from what felt like all angles. "One of us is a distraction, then the other comes up behind them, blocking them in, and then we pound them with snowballs!" Hestia squealed, obviously pleased with her plan.

"But you forgot one thing…" Sirius interrupted, appearing round the side of the shed. "We can hear you and that won't work." He beamed, tossing a large snowball between his hands menacingly.

"Rrruuuuuuunnnnn!" Hestia screamed, both the girls turning on their heels and sprinting in the opposite direction.

"That won't work!" Sirius yelled after them, laughing. They thought they were home free but out of nowhere James and Remus popped up and each boy grabbed hold of one girl, James had Hestia and Remus had Lily. Holding them tightly, Sirius caught up with them, a snowball in each hand. The girls screamed and laughed at the same time, trying to wriggle out of the boy's arms, but to no avail.

"Ow!" Remus moaned as Lily elbowed him in the rib.

"Sorry!" Lily squeaked, still trying to wriggle out of his arms.

"Now girls." Sirius chimed, and the girls stopped fighting the boys to listen to him. "You can surrender now or…" he dragged on.

"Or what?" Lily demanded.

"Sshhhh, patience Lily-kins!" Remus chided. Rolling her eyes, Remus giggled, she hated it when the boys made up nicknames for her.

"Or…" Sirius began "you can get a snowball… to the face." He finished with a devilish smirk.

"That's barbaric!" Hestia complained, struggling against James arms, but he was too strong for her.

"Fine, I surrender!" Lily gave in. Sirius smirked, and Remus released his arms; it was only once she was out of the tight grip of his arms that she realised how cold she was. Her coat was covered in splodges of snow, her gloves were wet through from picking up the snow and her fingers felt like icicles inside them. Water dripped from her hair and down the back of her neck; coupled with a wet jumper underneath from Sirius' surprise attack earlier, she was frozen! Even her thick snow boots were so wet the water was beginning to leak in and the numbness in her fingers was creeping down her legs and into her toes too.

"Good. Hestia are you going to surrender too?" Sirius asked, feigning innocence.

"Fine." She pouted. "Fine, I surrender."

"Y'AY WE WIN!" Sirius sand, dancing around much to the amusement of James and Remus, who were both chuckling.

"Can we go inside now? I can't feel my toes." Hestia whined.

"Yeah come on!" Remus yelled, already running towards the house, the others hot on his tail.

Lily hadn't realised how long they had been outside, by the time they had got dried off and settled in the living room with mugs of hot chocolate, it was nearly two o'clock. They'd missed lunch so Max was preparing a try of sandwiches and crisps to fill their empty stomachs which growled appreciatively.

"How was your snowball fight?" Sarah asked, appearing in the doorway, interrupting the grip's conversation about which quidditch team was best.

"Good!" James replied with a grin. "The boys won."

"But you cheated." Hestia complained, crossing her arms in front of her chest and pouting.

"I expected nothing less." Edward said appearing at his wife's side, he put on a smile but it was clear that his mind was somewhere else. On closer inspection Lily realised his eyes were slightly puffy and red, although they'd been concealed well, Sarah's too although the thick red frames of her glasses hid most of the redness.

"You alright guys?" Sirius asked, he had obviously picked up on what Lily had.

"Just…" Sarah started and tears leaked from the edges of her eyes. Sniffing loudly, she allowed Edward to lead her over to a spare arm chair opposite the teenagers, Edward perched himself on the arm, one foot still resting on the floor.

"Marlene McKinnon's parents have been killed." Edward explained. "They were close friends of ours." He added, his voice breaking slightly, he tried to remain strong but he couldn't stop the tears from falling.

"Elijah and Scarlett are dead?" James asked, his voice trembling. Sarah nodded. James went numb, Marlene was a good friend, her parents were both aurors so she understood how James often felt, isolated and alone - a feeling not many children at aged ten could understand, but Marlene did, she had been the only other child of aurors, many didn't live long enough to have any. He leant back onto the couch, his hands on his temples.

"What about Marlene?" Sirius asked, Hestia tensed next to him at the mention of her name but remained silent.

"She's safe for now. She's staying at the ministry." Edward replied, James was relieved, at least Marlene was safe.

"How did it happen?" Sirius asked his voice shaky. The McKinnon's were some of the nicest people he'd ever met, other than the Potter's it was their doorstep he'd turn up on after an argument with his mother and they'd welcome him in with open arms. Both of them were tall and slim, Scarlett had long blonde hair that cascaded down her back in loose waves, Marlene and her looked so similar they could have been sisters. Elijah on the other hand had chestnut coloured locks cut short, although Marlene had his eyes, chocolate brown - the colour of chocolate mousse, Sirius had once observed, that had made them laugh, he smiled smally at the memory. The McKinnon's were from a long line of pure blooded wizards, one of the old families, like the Potter's and the Black's, Sirius couldn't get his head round it, Voldemort had virtually wiped out one of the last remaining all pureblood families, bar Marlene, it seemed ludicrous, why would he kill off _'his own people'_.

"A death eater attack, their home was ambushed, they didn't stand a chance, they were outnumbered 4-1." Sarah answered, before turning to sob into Edward's shoulder. Sirius felt sick, he was almost sure his cousin, Bellatrix, would have been amongst those eight death eaters, maybe even his brother, Severus too, but he kept that thought to himself, it's not what the others needed to hear. The McKinnon's were high profile objectors to Voldemort's pure blood regime, and people like that never lasted long; they were also rumoured to be part of a secret organisation, led by Dumbledore himself, to put an end to the killing, although Sirius had no idea how true the rumours were, so Voldemort would have undoubtedly sent his best lieutenant, Bellatrix LeStrange formerly Black, and probably Lucius Malfoy, now married to Bellatrix's sister Narcissa… 'What a wonderful family I have' Sirius concluded glumly. He'd been the only one to turn out 'normal.' He pictured the McKinnon's beautiful home, ruined. The fluffy beige carpets, the cream wallpaper decorated with golden swirls, the family portraits hung around the house, the medals Marlene had won at quidditch camp, souvenirs from their holiday visiting wizards in Prague, all gone, destroyed. Sirius knew if Bellatrix had been there there'd be nothing left, she would have made sure of that.

"Marlene was in the house." Edward added. Sirius felt sick. He held his head in his hands, although he had never really loved Marlene romantically, she was just a fling, it didn't mean he didn't love her, but more as a sister. "She fought of two death eaters, before apparating out; apparently she put up quite a fight." Edward smiled a small smile, and chuckled lightly. "Good old Marlene." He mused.

"I can't believe it." James shook his head. "Not Elijah and Scarlett, they were two of the best aurors, it can't be…" Lily curled her arm around James' shoulders and pulled him as close as she could. Stroking the short hair around his ear, she tried to soothe him. She wanted to tell him everything would be alright, but she couldn't, she didn't know it would be. She hadn't known Marlene very well, but what she did know of her she seemed lovely, last summer before she'd graduated from Hogwarts her and Lily had spent a great number of hours in library talking about what they'd do after Hogwarts, Marlene wanted to be an auror _'Just like my parents.'_ She smiled proudly, they had obviously meant the world to her, and now they were dead. The whole thing seemed so cruel, even Lily felt a tear leak from her eye. James noticing this wiped it away and kissed her temple. Remus, who up until this moment had been incredibly quiet, suddenly found his voice.

"Thanks for telling us Edward, Sarah." He said, nodding to each of them as he said their name.

"It's okay Remus, you deserve to know." Edward replied, wiping away a tear from his face.

"They were meant to be coming over on Boxing Day," Sarah sobbed. "It was going to be a surprise!" Edward stood up from his position on the chair and helped Sarah to stand.

"We're going to the ministry; I want to see if there's anything we can do to help. Plus I want to see Marlene; she'll be a wreck right now." Edward concluded, before taking his wife's hand and leading her from the room. Sirius let out a long deep exhale of breath. Silence enveloped the room, none of them daring to break it.

The silence was only broken a few minutes later with Max's shouts of _"Sandwiches."_ Something after the new they'd just received seemed like a good idea.

**Authors note: I'm trying to keep my story as canon as possible so I'm trying to get all the events from the books/flashbacks etc in here, and in the book when Sirius tells Harry about the McKinnon's being murdered, I'm making that Marlene and her future husband – not her parents Scarlet (don't know why but I love that name) and Elijah (another name I love!) just to clear up any confusion! Although James' parents died of dragon pox in the books, and to me that doesn't seem a fitting way for Emily and Edward to go, so I think I'll change that, but I'm going to try and keep it as canon as possible, so if you spot any mistakes tell me, because if I've changed the plot slightly it's probably accidental! Much love! And sorry for the essay!**

**PS I've written a couple of one shots – mainly when I get writers block – so check them out! Thank you :D … and it really is bye this time! :P**


	27. Christmas

**Chapter 27: Christmas**

**Authors note: I don't really like this chapter, I've rewritten it a couple of times and I'm never completely happy with it, but I hope it's alright nevertheless. **

**And **_**Marauderette**_**: I felt so bad reading your review, I genuinely felt really guilty, how you were rooting for Remus and Jess! They don't end up together, mainly because I can't imagine him with anyone else but Tonks – but I think they **_**would**_** make a cute couple. I think she's always going to be his 'what if?' but keep reading, not in the immediate future, but after Hogwarts there are big things in store for Jess!**

OOH… AND I'm SO HAPPY! I WAS AIMING FOR 50 REVIEWS AND 1000 VIEWS THIS MONTH, AND WE'VE AKREADY GONE PAST THAT AND IT'S ONLY THE 18TH (WHEN I WROTE THIS!) SO THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH – I LOVE YOU! Fan girl moment over….

"IT'S CHRISTMAS!" Sirius squealed, in a high pitched tone which Lily didn't even know to be possible for a man. Eyes squinted shut she tried to ward of the unwanted sunlight gleaming through the window with her closed eyelids – this however didn't work, the sunlight was too bright, added to its reflection of the now perfect snow, more must have fallen overnight, it was illuminating. Forcing her eyes open, she sat up in her bed and rubbed her eyes, Hestia was still fast asleep in her bed, snoring away. Lily decided if she had to be awake, Hestia did too, especially as it was her stupid boyfriend who had woken her up in the first place. Delicately wiggling the pillow out from behind her, she paused, aimed and threw it at Hestia, hitting her square in the face.

"Ooft!" she protested, jolting awake with a start. Shooting daggers at Lily, Hestia opened her mouth to lecture her best friend on the importance of beauty sleep, but she never got the chance, Sirius burst in through the door, wearing only a pair of navy track pants and a grin spread across his face.

"IT'S CHRISTMAS!" he repeated, looking like a five year old who'd just been handed a balloon.

"Thanks babe, but I want to sleep." Hestia replied, turning over and pulling the duvet over her head. As Sirius entered the room, Lily saw he, like James, had a finely toned stomach; _'Quidditch did wonders for the body' _Lily mused, remembering the first time she'd seen James abs – fifth year when Sirius had stolen all his clothes and he'd had to run through the common room in his boxers, she'd then given him a detention and told him off for being so stupid but even _she_ couldn't help but admit, he _was_ toned, _'How times change.' _ She concluded, remembering her hatred for him.

"Hestia baby wake up!" Sirius moaned, attempting to pull the duvet from Hestia's vice like grip.

"Come on Hest, we probably should get up, it is Christmas after all." Lily interrupted.

"Fine." Hestia pouted. "Now get out so we can get dressed." She commanded, pointing out the door.

"Your wish is my command my fair lady." Sirius replied, bowing low and tipping an imaginary hat, with a wink he walked backwards out the door, shutting it with a soft click.

"I'm going back to sleep." Hestia declared, pulling the cover over her face.

"NO YOU'RE NOT HESTIA JONES! GET YOUR SEXY ASS OUT OF BED RIGHT NOW!" Sirius shouted through the door, he was obviously outside listening for sounds of movement. Huffing, Hestia reluctantly clambered out of her bed, much to Lily's amusement. Reaching out of her bed, Lily grabbed hold of her pillow which was now on the floor next to Hestia's bed and snuggled back down to sleep.

"LILY EVANS, GET UP RIGHT NOW!" a voice shouted through the door, although this time it wasn't Sirius, it was James, Lily giggled and Hestia rolled her eyes, scanning her eyes over her wardrobe she couldn't decide what to wear, pretty or comfortable?

"Or what?" Lily shouted back, giggling slightly. Hestia turned to her friend and rolled her eyes then went back to her wardrobe.

"WE'LL COME IN THERE AND TICKLE YOU!" came the reply, from Remus this time, clearly all the Marauders were up and rearing to go.

"I'm up! I'm up! I'm up!" Lily shouted, scrambling out of bed, much to the amusement of the three boys who were snickering outside, listening to Lily's scrambling across the floorboards. Lily was eager to avoid any tickling, so opened her wardrobe, like Hestia struggling to decide what to wear.

"Finally!" Sirius moaned, as the girls came out their room; the boys were all sat around on the floor, James idly playing with a golden snitch, the way he used to in fifth year. At the sight of Lily, he hastily put the snitch back in his pocket and stood up, smiling.

"Morning." He said, kissing her cheek.

"Morning to you too." She replied cheerfully.

"You look gorgeous." James stammered slightly, observing Lily's apparel. She'd finally chosen, well Hestia had chosen when she couldn't decide, an emerald green dress, buttoned up at the front, pulled in at the waist with a black belt, which then flowed out into layers of fabric that when Lily's twirled around made her feel like a ballerina. Her hair was pulled up in an elegant bun and her face free from makeup, bar a small amount of nude lip gloss – Hestia's idea.

"Thank you." Lily blushed.

"Come on! Let's go downstairs, I want my presents!" Sirius moaned, grabbing Hestia's hand and dragging her down the stairs. Lily giggled as she took James' hand and followed suit. Remus and James were dressed similarly, dark denim jeans, although Remus' were a little lighter than James', with a shirt, Remus' was cream buttoned up with his collar wide open and James' light blue, worn open over a white vest top which sat over his chiselled muscles in a way which Lily found very pleasing. Sirius on the other hand was still wearing his navy track pants and a black t-shirt from the last quidditch world cup, that Lily was pretty sure belonged to James. Hestia in contrast looked like a super model, her curly hair left loose around her shoulders, tight black jeans and a sleeveless shirt, ruffled slightly at the front in crisp white.

Following Sirius down the stairs, the group huddled in the living room around the Christmas tree. Sirius was hopping up and own in his seat, like a five year old child, he was giddy with excitement at the prospect of opening the presents wrapped in deep red paper tied with gold ribbon, sparkling under the lights of the tree, even Lily had to admit, she was tempted to rip them open there and then. Edward and Sarah came out of the kitchen, beaming – looking significantly brighter than they had yesterday. Sarah's hair was pulled in a messy ponytail on top of her head, still wearing her black dressing gown, decorated with white polka dots. Edward was wearing a loose pair of black pyjama bottoms and baggy grey t-shirt. Laughing, Edward shook his head, his hand on his temple.

"Come on, let Sirius open his presents before he burst with excitement!" Sarah chuckled, sensing Sirius' impatience.

"Yeah!" Sirius exclaimed, diving under the tree, searching for one bearing his name. Edward handed James a cup of strong coffee, which he took a sip of, feeling the caffeine zip through his body instantly making him more alert. Relaxing slightly, now he had his coffee, James slipped into the arm chair in the corner and pulled Lily onto his lap. Sirius by this stage had already ripped open all of his presents and one of James' by accident too.

"Here." Sirius exclaimed, handing James a packet of Bertie Bott's every flavour beans. "They're from Wormtail." He added, with no remorse for opening his friend's present.

"Err, thanks." James replied, not quite knowing how to react, Lily on the other hand, giggled and rolled her eyes; trust Sirius to do something like that. He was now sat contentedly, surrounded by a pile of presents, the same present from Peter, a large box of chocolate frogs from Remus, a dog collar and lead from Hestia – Edward and Sarah failed to see the funny side of this - a _'How to train your dog'_ book from Lily, a packet of fizzing whizzbees from Alice and a dog bone from Jessica - ever the joker. Then there was a photo frame bearing a photo of a young Sirius and a girl who looked incredibly like Bellatrix, so like her at first glance Lily thought it was. Puzzled Lily continued to watch the picture, in which the young Sirius stook his tongue out at the camera and the girl pulled silly faces, with a smile across her face she lost her look of Bellatrix, who Lily had only seen sneer. Sirius seemed to have noticed Lily puzzled expression and smiled.

"My cousin Andromeda – she's the only Black I actually talk to." Sirius explained. "I was out eight there, not sure how old she was, couple of years older I guess." Looking down at the picture, Sirius seemed to go quiet, as if lost in old memories. Quickly snapping out of his reverie, he grinned back at Lily. "And she sent a card too! She's having a baby – due next year."

"That's fantastic news!" Sarah exclaimed.

"Brilliant!" Edward agreed. Sirius sat there happily flicking through his presents, there was nothing from any other member of his family except from Andromeda, although he didn't show it on the outside, he inwardly hoped there'd be at least a card from his brother, he didn't expect anything from his mother Walburga, but he and Regulus had parted on seemingly good terms, but with everything that was now going on in Regulus' life, Sirius doubted he would ever be a part of it again.

"This is from me." James said, tossing Sirius a small box. Confused, Sirius opened the box, and again looked puzzled.

"It's from us too!" Edward interrupted, not wanting Sirius to think they'd forgotten him.

"A key?" Sirius asked, pulling a black key from the box.

"I'll show you what it's for later." James replied with a grin, seemingly ecstatic at his own cleverness. Lily, still sat in his lap, looked on confused, but James refused to budge.

"I'll tell you later." James whispered, and Lily realised that was the best she was going to get.

"My turn!" Hestia squealed, clapping her hands together. There was a letter from her mother and father, she'd receive her presents from them when she visited for New Year, but there was a packet of chocolate frogs that came with the card, a necklace from which hung a silver H from Lily.

"It's beautiful Lily!" Hestia gushed, hugging her best friend who was now sat on the floor in front of James' chair as he idly played with the strands of her long hair.

"You're welcome." Lily replied. Then there was charm bracelet from Sirius. James had bought her a stag charm, added to the silver H and S charms Sirius had added, as well as a small golden dog, which Hestia found so funny she'd fallen backwards with laughter. There was a packet of exploding bonbons from Remus, and a pair of diamond earrings from Jessica and Alice who had sent a joint present. Hestia gushed at how sparkly they were as she slipped them into her ears; and a packet of Salt water Taffy from Peter, which Hestia smiled at and added it to her pile.

Then it was James' turn.

There was a packet of chocolate frogs from Remus - as to be expected and the Bertie Bott's beans from Peter. Then there was a box of assorted products from Zonko's from Hestia, Alice and Jessica. Sirius had bought him a black t-shirt emblazoned with a golden snitch and a quaffle plus the words 'DRILL SERGANT' to which James laughed. From Lily there was a black black delicately decorated with golden swirls forming the word James, inside was the most expensive looking watch James had ever seen – white face numbered with silver numbers and thick leather straps.

"That way you're never late for class." Lily teased. James chuckled and kissed Lily's cheek.

"Thanks darling, I love it." She smiled, she was glad he liked it. Helping him put it on, Lily grinned.

"Your turn!" James beamed, as he passed Lily the first of her presents. There were was chocolate frogs and salt water taffy from Remus and Peter, earrings - like Hestia's but jade green - from Jessica and Alice, a blue dress from Hestia, a beautiful notebook from Sirius - orange with silver binding, and then she opened James' present. A lily pendant on a silver chain, covered in small diamonds, Lily didn't know what to say.

"James… I…" she stammered, unable to tear her eyes away from the necklace. Hestia was staring at it transfixed, it really was gorgeous!

"You like it?" James asked, unsure of Lily's reaction.

"I love it!" she beamed, kissing his cheek, she whispered in his ear. "It's perfect!" opening and closing the clasp around her neck, Lily looked at it one more time and grinned.

"NOW TELL ME WHAT THE KEY IS FOR!" Sirius shouted, once everyone had finished their presents, Remus had opened his the previous day with his parents.

"Come on then." Sarah laughed, as Sirius ran out the room and into the kitchen, unsure of where to go but eager to open his present, he looked around as if looking where the Potter's could be hiding it.

Opening the back door, Edward grinned as Sirius raced out, nearly knocking Edward flying in the process.

"OH MERLIN!" Sirius shouted, that must mean he's impressed, Lily thought. As the rest of the seventh years made their way over to the back door, even they had to admit it was cool. A motorcycle was sat on the porch, black with silver springs and a leather seat.

"Daddy Potter this is AMAZING!" Sirius yelled, his eyes filling with tears. With the Potter's he had a family, someone who cared for him and for the first time in his life, Sirius felt properly loved.

"It's cool isn't it Padfoot?" James replied, to which Sirius nodded enthusiastically. "Well, it's about to get so much cooler!" James added with a wink. James gestured for Sirius to get on and then pressed a big red button in the middle of the handlebars, next to the ignition. The engine roared to life, but instead of shooting off into the swimming pool, the motorbike levitated a foot in the air, and slowly rising.

"A FLYING MOTORBIKE?" Sirius screamed, Edward and Sarah nodded back. Sirius looked like he might faint with excitement. Zooming off into the cold winter sky, Sirius laughed excitedly.

"Woooo!" he yelled as he went into a dive, skimming the water of the swimming pool as he pulled up into a loop-de-loop.

"Come down now Sirius!" Edward shouted, slightly worried about Sirius ending up at the bottom of the pool. Sirius brought the motorbike down and with a rev of its powerful engine he dismounted.

"That. Is. So. Cool." Sirius grinned, his eyes scanning over the bike - still not quite believing it was his.

"Go in the broom shed please James." Sarah instructed, James' eyes flicked between his parents and the broom shed, a look of confusion spreading across his face, but without a word he crossed the patio towards the broom shed, clearing a path with his wand to avoid trudging through the thick snow. Wrenching open the creaky door, James squealed with excitement – yes squealed, Lily had to stifle a giggle; Sarah on the hand was less discreet and laughed out loud.

"Could that have been any more feminine James?" she laughed, holding her sides for support.

"But – but – but – look!" James replied, pulling a broom from the store. To Lily and Hestia, this looked just like any other broom, but apparently it was good because Sirius stared on open mouthed.

"Is that a Nimbus 1000?" Sirius squeaked.

"It is!" Edward beamed, _'another quidditch nut!'_ Lily inwardly sighed, don't get her wrong, she enjoyed watching Quidditch but she wasn't mad on it like the boys seemed to be!

"I can't believe it!" James grinned, crossing back across the pathway and hugging his parents tightly.

"And we got these for you two girls." Sarah added, handing over two small boxes. Hestia and Lily took the boxes and opened them simultaneously.

"That's beautiful!" Hestia cooed.

"Thank you, Edward, Sarah! But you didn't need to!" Lily said, inside each box was a bracelet, decorated with tiny gems, each a different colour, sparkling blues, glistening reds, gleaming yellows, glowing greens and dazzling purples.

"Nonsense!" Edward replied.

"Thank you." Lily breathed; she couldn't believe how much one bracelet could sparkle so much.

"It's goblin made, so it's good quality." Sarah said. Hestia was still staring at the box with a grin; Lily had taken hers from the black silk lining and was fastening it around her wrist, with the help of Sarah it fitted perfectly.

"It changes length to fit your wrist perfectly too." Sarah added.

"Now come kids - back inside before you catch your death of cold!"

Lily's time at Potter mansion passed quickly with a flurry of snowball fights, games of hide and seek in the large ballroom, girly nights in with Hestia and Sarah, endless Christmas dinners and days of being spoilt rotten by Sarah and Edward, but eventually her week with them had finished and the 30th December loomed.

"Remember to write to me - every day." Sarah instructed as she held James' face in her hands. "You too Mrs." She added, turning to Lily.

"Yes Sarah." Lily giggled, pulling Mrs Potter into a hug as Sarah kissed her cheek.

"It's been lovely having you here." Sarah said as Lily pulled away. "It's so nice to have a girl around the house!" she giggled.

"Me too!" Hestia interrupted, pulling her case down the stairs with a bang.

"Yes you too Hestia!" Sarah laughed, to which Hestia beamed.

"Now come on, you'd better get going." Edward interrupted; if he didn't intervene Sarah would never let them leave! "It's been great having you Lily, you're welcome anytime – you too Hestia!" Edward added, turning round to smile at Hestia who had now dragged her rather large suitcase down the stairs and was wheeling it down the hallway.

"You too Mr Potter, you have the most lovely house in the world!" Hestia grinned.

"Not quite, but it's one of them." James teased.

"Where's Sirius?" Hestia asked, looking around for her boyfriend, as if to see him hiding behind Lily. James shrugged, Lily looked around, he was nowhere to be found.

"Sirius Black, get here right now." Edward, shouted, his voice firm. The door of the small closet under the stairs, where the vacuum and cleaning supplies were kept, creaked open. The group giggled as Sirius' face appeared in the opening, looking sheepish.

"I don't want to meet your parents! You can't make me!" he shook his head.

"Yes, you do. Now come on." Hestia replied imperiously. Crawling out, he hung his head, sulking.

"Now stop sulking and come on." Hestia chided, pulling him by his arm out the door, Lily and James following.

"Have fun kids and have a good new year!" Edward called out after them.

"Thanks! You too!" Hestia called back.

"Bye Mum and dad!" James shouted back. Lily waved and blew kisses and watched as Edward and Sarah, closed the door and retreated into their beautiful home. The snow had almost gone and the sky was much clearer, in fact the sun was threatening to peak through the clouds, making it actually quite a nice day. At the gate the four of them said their goodbyes, and even if it was forced in Sirius' case, apparated out to their next destinations, the houses of Evans and Jones.

**Authors note: it's never been a doubt in my mind that I wouldn't carry this story on after their seventh year, but I'm wondering whether I should carry on writing it under **_**'Accio Evans'**_** or should I write it as a whole new story – but it'll follow on don't worry! Let me know your thoughts: send me a message or add it on the end of a review (hint hint!) Thank you! And I know I've updated like three times this week, and I'm afraid I won't be able to keep that up, but I will be trying to update at least once a week, so bear with me! TTFN!**


	28. Supermarket

**Chapter 28: **

**Authors note: Massive thank you for your views, reviews, follows and alert and everything! Seems my phone hasn't stopped beeping telling me about all these alerts etc! I am so grateful for you lot actually reading (and hopefully enjoying) my writing! Thank you again – and remember to review!**

Apparating straight into the Evans' kitchen, Lily and James were surprised to find Mr and Mrs Evans sat drinking tea with a rather giraffish looking woman who at the sight of them stormed out the room and by the sound of it, out the house by the slamming of the front door. James stared on confused, not quite understanding what had just occurred. Lily on the other hand rolled her eyes while her parents looked at her apologetically.

"Hello dear." Mrs Evans greeted, they'd obviously been expecting her. Standing up from her chair and embracing her daughter into a close hug. She had the same hair as Lily, long curly and vivid red in colour, but with brilliant blue eyes which sparkled at the sight of her daughter. Mr Evans was next to embrace her, when he looked at James and smiled, James realised that he had Lily's eyes, but paired with a much lighter blonde hair, more like the girl who had stormed out, James wasn't quite sure who she was or her relevance.

"I'm sorry about Petunia dear." Mr Evans said, pulling out of the hug with his youngest daughter. "She's just stressed – about the wedding that is." Mr Evans excused, although he didn't sound like he quite believed what he was saying. James suddenly realised who the girl was, Petunia Evans, Lily's older sister. Lily was by far the prettier of the two girls; despite only seeing her a split second James seemed to have taken in quite a lot of her facial features. She had rather too much neck which made her look like a very sour giraffe whom constantly had its lips pursed, over which hung her slightly too large front teeth, almost like a rabbit. A rabbit giraffe; James had to suppress a giggle to avoid looking rude.

"Dad, Mum, this is James." Lily said, introducing him. James plastered on his most charming smile to hide his nervousness.

"Nice to meet you son." Mr Evans smiled, reaching out a large hand and shaking James' enthusiastically. He was nothing like James imagined, he wasn't frightening at all, and seemed quite pleased to meet him… which had to be a good sign!

"Nice to meet you Mr. Evans." James replied smiling, somewhat more naturally.

"Call me Arthur. Mr. Evans was my father." Arthur smiled.

"Lovely to meet you. I'm Rose; Lily's mum, although you probably guessed that." Mrs Evans smiled, she seemed taken in by James, she smiled charmingly and batted her eyelids slightly; Lily had to suppress a grin, trust her mum to be totally absorbed by her boyfriend! _'Total opposite to what she did when she met Vernon!'_ Lily noted.

"Come on, we have plenty of tea, come and have some!" Rose offered. James smiled and sat down at the table, next to Rose and opposite Lily and Arthur, feeling much more at ease than he had done a minute previously. Buttering a scone and taking a sip of the coffee which Arthur had just put in front of him, he thought _'this might not be so bad after all.'_

"What is this?" James questioned.

"A car." Lily grinned. "You drive it." To which James looked puzzled. Poking the wing mirror, it moved slightly at his touch which made him jump backwards.

"Like a broom?" he asked, looking down at the small black car, it was a compact two door Citroën. Lily laughed and nodded. "Doesn't look much like a broom." James mused, causing Arthur, who had been hanging out of the front door watching James' reaction with a look of fascination and amusement, to laugh raucously.

"You never driven in a car before James?" Arthur asked, making his way from the front door towards James, Arthur was fascinated by the world of magic and meeting James – who had never encountered the muggle world before - was amazing to him, to see his recations to a seemingly normal muggle object. James had only been at the house for a few hours and yet Arthur loved him already, it might have been his natural charm or maybe his amazed expression as he encountered the muggle world, or just the way he looked at Lily, with pure love in his eyes, Arthur couldn't put his finger on it, but he knew he liked James an awful lot more than he liked Vernon. Lily smirked and held the driver's door open, leaning on the top it, still chuckling to herself at James.

"No. I've never even seen one up close before." James admitted, leaning down and staring through the window at the dashboard. Lily leant in and turned the key in the ignition and the car erupted to life, the engine roaring, the dashboard sparkling with tiny lights.

"Aaaahhhhh!" James squealed, jumping backwards into Arthur's arms, who broke into fits of giggles. Knees buckling with laughter, Lily slumped into the driver's seat, holding her face in her hands to try and cover her giggles. Stepping out of Arthur's grasp, James scowled and narrowed his eyes at the car.

"Evil car." James spat.

"Oh dear!" Arthur grinned, wiping a tear from his eye. "Right James, you open the door and you climb in, Lily will show you the rest." he added.

"Is it safe?" James asked tentatively, staring at the door handle as if it might jump out and bite him.

"Yes it's safe." Arthur laughed, as he opened door and gestured for James to climb in. reluctantly James put a foot into the car, and as nothing spectacular happened, he bent his head in and then the rest of his body, finally lowering himself into the seat. He relaxed slightly as he leant back in the comfortable seat and as Lily slipped smiled at him from the driver's seat.

"Well, I'll see you later guys!" Arthur waved. "Remember don't get too much stuff – we've only got a few people coming over!" he shouted as Lily reversed the car out of the drive and onto the road. The Evans household were hosting their usual New Year's Eve party to welcome in the New Year, Lily had been set the task - with the help of James - of getting the food and non-alcoholic drink, which meant a trip to the muggle supermarket.

"Are you sure you can drive this?" James asked, as he glared at all the buttons and levers surrounding the steering wheel, then there was a strange handle in the middle of the car which James had no idea what it was used for, Lily had called it a hand brake or something that James didn't understand. The whole thing looked incredibly confusing; Lily was checking her mirrors and James winced as a car drove past them on the opposite side of the road.

"Yes, I passed my driver's test in the summer holidays." Lily replied, as she scanned the road for oncoming traffic and pulled out into the road. Once she was driving straight, she pulled a card out of her pocket. "My driving license." Lily explained. "Means I can drive a car." She added, checking her wing mirrors as she turned into the next road. James smiled, slightly more reassured, but mainly at Lily's picture, she had to stare at the camera and keep a straight face, Lily tutted at him and took the card from his grasp to avoid any more giggles at her photo, which even she had to admit was bad. She had begun taking driving lessons in the May half term and by the time the summer holidays were over, she'd passed, it was the quickest her instructor had ever seen anyone pass, but then again this was Lily Evans, she would _never_ fail a test. She had passed on her first try – another thing that Petunia had sneered at, it had taken her three attempts for her to pass, and then she'd only just scraped a pass. _'You must have used magic on the examiner. Jinxed him' _she'd sneered, to which Lily's parents had shouted at Petunia, who had smirked and stormed out the house and Lily had spent all afternoon crying. She shook the memory from her head and focused on the road.

"Ooh what does this do?" James asked, pointing to the red button on the edge of his seatbelt with great interest.

"Releases your seatbelt, that thing strapping you in. Don't press it, you've got to wear the belt, it's the law." Lily explained, spinning the steering wheel as she drove round the roundabout, to which James shouted 'WOOOOOOO' very unhelpfully. He was enjoying this car ride far too much.

"What does this do?" James asked again. Lily looked over to him and saw he was pointing at a small switch on the plastic panel on his door. Lily laughed.

"It's the window controller. Press it." Lily replied. To which James did, and jumped as the window wound down and cold winter air filled the car as they tootled along the road towards the supermarket.

"Make it stop! Make it stop!" James cried as the cold air hit him square in the face. Waving his arms around in a very unsuccessful attempt to stop the air with his hands. Lily was laughing wildly, struggling to keep control of the car; she couldn't risk taking her hands off the steering wheel to press the switch on her side.

"Press the opposite end." Lily squeaked in between giggles. James did as she instructed and the window slid back up, cutting off the torrent of cold air.

"Merlin's beard…" James breathed a second later, making the two of them burst into fits of fresh giggles. "You muggles are strange."

"What is this place?" James gasped, his eyes attempting to take in his surroundings. The place was a huge building with shelves lined with every kind of food that James could imagine some even he couldn't imagine. Then there was a magical moving staircase, leading up to another floor, where the space was full of muggle clothing. James was in love with this place.

"It's a supermarket James. And that is an escalator." Lily laughed. "Grab a basket, and try to attract too much attention." She added as forethought. Picking up a basket, James swung the basket high in the air, just like Lily had as a small child, she giggled as the excitement spread across James' face.

"Be careful James!" she warned, still laughing, as James nearly hit the security guard who was glaring at James, although his mouth remained poker straight. After seeing the annoyance in the guard's eyes, James rather sheepishly stopped swinging the basket and followed Lily as she walked down the first aisle.

"What's this?" James asked, picking up a bag of Walkers crisps.

"They're crisps James." Lily replied slowly, this really was becoming tiresome. Every five seconds James would pick up a packet of something and ask Lily what it was, quite annoyingly this had been going on for the last 15 minutes and it was beginning to test Lily's patience.

"Can we have some of these?" James asked, picking up a fluorescent packet, decorated with the name _'Starburst'_ written across it in red font and little packets in red, orange, purple and green covering the rest.

"Fine." Lily replied, not even bothering to look at what James had picked up; so far she'd ended up with an unwanted bottle of cherryade _'But it's the colour of Gryffindor'_ James had moaned, tiger bread _'it's cool, it's like a tiger!'_ and a packet of tortilla chips _'the shape is funny!'_

Finally Lily had got everything her mother had asked, and some other things courtesy of James, she made her way over to the checkout. Placing the items from her basket on the belt of the checkout, James was enthralled by its movement, the way when you put the food on it; it moved towards the cashier, a young woman who was watching James with a mixture of amusement and confusion. Lily giggled as James crouched down and watched the conveyor belt move with his head on the same level as it. Lily tapped his shoulder and he stood up and followed her towards the other end of the checkout; the woman scanned the items and pushed them towards Lily so she could pack them into plastic carrier bags provided by the supermarket. Bags of salt and vinegar chip sticks were packed; bottles of lemonade and various other things were packed, including the extras that James had added in.

"That 20 pounds and 60 pence please." The cashier said in a sweet voice, she was staring at James, this time surveying his face, she obviously found him attractive. Lily took the money out of her purse, a twenty pound note and three twenty pence pieces; she slammed the money down into her hand, the feeling of jealousy building up inside her, a feeling she was not proud of. Then James, who had finished packing – he was enjoying himself far too much – turned to her and grinned, one of his goofish lopsided grins, the kind that made Lily's knees go weak, and the jealousy subsided, James had eyes for her and her only. The cashier handed Lily her receipt, and as James took the bags, she linked her arm through his, laughing as he continued to stare around the supermarket astounded.

Unlocking the car, Lily opened the boot and took the bags from James, who was fascinated that the car had an extra compartment.

"THIS IS AMAZING!" he had admired, as he stuck his head inside the boot of the car, as if to survey it from a closer angle. "Does it have an undetectable extension charm on it?" Lily laughed and shook her head as she pulled James back to a standing position with a firm hand on his shoulder, shut the boot and wandered round to her door and pulled it open. James however stood staring at the handle of the door, not daring to touch it.

"Come on James, it won't hurt you." Lily giggled as James reluctantly slid his hand under the plastic of the door handle and slowly opened the door, only to grin madly when he realised he'd actually opened the door to the car.

"I did it!" he beamed, Lily laughed.

"Of course you did James." She replied, as she helped James fasten his seatbelt into its holder and turned the key in the ignition to start the car, put the gear stick in reverse and began to reverse the car and exit the car park.

"I could totally be a muggle." James mused after a few seconds of silence.

"Of course you could darling." Lily supported, a grin covering her face. As they exited the car park and started down the road, Lily leant into the dash board and pressed a button, much to James surprise music sprung out of the speakers all around the car, the sweet sounds of the Beatles 'Hey Jude' filling the car.

"Aaaahhhh!" James screamed. "Lily, you have men trapped in your car and they're singing!" he shrieked.

"James, it's the radio!" Lily laughed "We have those in the wizarding world too!" she giggled.

"Oh yeah… I knew that…" James replied sheepishly and looked out the window, as if to avoid Lily seeing his blushing cheeks.

"I'm hungry, are you hungry James?" Lily asked a second later. James nodded, he hadn't noticed but his stomach was growling away.

"Good." Lily added, pulling the car into a small side road and into a small building, red and yellow in colour with a giant yellow M, plastered across the top. She followed the road round into a small queue of cars.

"Where are we?" James asked, peering round, there was a small car park, filled with a few other cars and a few people inside the building eating something, James couldn't tell from this distance.

"McDonalds James, you'll love it." Lily replied.

**AN: hope you liked this chapter :D I enjoyed writing bout James in the muggle world! Heheee, I can imagine being like _'WHOA WHAT IS THIS?'_ at everything! It would be amusing to see! And I know a lot of my readers are from America so HI FROM ENGLAND :D it's so weird to think you lot in the USA are reading my story written by a girl from a little town on the east of England! Freakin' weird! Hahaa, thanks for reading and sorry for my weirdness – I'm in such a weird mood today! And for the Americans, I think you call a boot, a trunk, although you probably worked that out…**

**Remember to review! TTFN x**

**PS this is the last chapter I have pre written – the rest I've been writing for about two weeks, which explains my quick updates – so the next update will be slower, and I've got a bit of writers block too :/ I know what I want to write but I just can't get my read around actually writing it! But I promise I will try and update within a week! You can shout at me if not!**


	29. New Year

Chapter 29:

**Authors note: I'm sooooooooooooooooo sorry for taking so long to update! I've been on holiday and I've been doing my English coursework so I've been so busy! And I'm sorry to those of you that were waiting for a new chapter! But I will promise I will try to update more regularly! Okay you have permission to shout at me now but I hope you like this chapter…**

After Lily had eaten her food and James had eaten his happy meal – he rather enjoyed the toy, a small dinosaur which when you pulled its tail roared – Lily put the car in gear and drove the short distance back to the Evans House. This time James managed to open the door for himself and didn't complain that the handle was trying to eat him; neither did he insist on sticking his head inside the boot to examine it closer, he simply grinned like a maniac as he lifted the bags of shopping out of the car, much to Lily's relief, her next door neighbours had come out to wave and Lily did not want to explain why her boyfriend had his head stuck in the boot of her car, shouting about muggles. Waving back she smiled and took the last bag from the car, shut the boot, clicked the lock button on the key and followed James up towards the house.

"You took your time!" Rose mock scolded as she came down the stairs, wearing her dressing gown and her hair pulled up in curlers, only half of her make up done.

"We stopped off for lunch." Lily explained. "Mum, you do realise you only have half your make up done right?" Lily giggled, her mother had eyeliner and, blusher and mascara done on the left side of her face – the right was significantly bare.

"I know! I just wanted to ask where you'd been that's all…" Rose trailed off. Lily sighed, but she couldn't help but smile. _'No, you wanted to see James.'_ She concluded, at least her mother liked James, more than could be said for Vernon. The first time her mother had met him, her father had informed her that she'd accidentally called him vermin and split orange juice into his lap _'Accidentally on purpose'_ her father had written in his letter. Once Petunia, and a very irate Vernon, had left her mother had proceeded to rant about what a foul man he was and how could her daughter fall for someone like that?! James was obviously a breath of fresh air as far as Rose and Arthur were concerned.

"Hey kids – bring the food in here." Arthur instructed, appearing in the doorway and gesturing towards the kitchen, where a table had been cleared and set out with bowls and glasses - all ready for the party. Lily emptied packets of crisps into the bowls; James copied, giggling when the bag popped.

"Err Lily?" Arthur asked, turning to face her father Lily laughed as he held up the loaf of tiger bread and bag of Starburst.

"Blame James!" Lily explained. James blushed slightly and grinned, Arthur shook his head.

"Well, at least you had fun." Mr Evans concluded as he stuffed the empty carrier bags into the cupboard to be used at a later date. "Now go on, shoo, go and get ready!" and Lily and James hurried out of the kitchen, to ready themselves for the New Year's Eve party.

"Ugh…" James groaned. January 1st had dawned and the banging in his head felt like someone had hit him repeatedly with a quaffle, and then hit him with a beaters bat for good measure – lifting his head off the pillow he squinted as a pink and red blob entered the room, wincing as the door squeaked. Positioning his glasses on his nose, the blob came into focus – Lily stood in the doorway smirking at James' face – he still had an eyeliner moustache drawn across his face and Lily's lipstick smeared across his lips, with a quick flick of her wand his face was clean and back to normal, James however didn't care, he just wanted the pounding in his head to subside. The party, even by Evans standards, had been a good one; Lily's cousins had forced James into drinking a shot every time someone mentioned how lovely he and Lily were together – by ten o'clock James was staggering around the house giggling at plant pots – the next door neighbour (who was rather drunk himself), had decided to use Lily's eyeliner to draw a moustache across James' face. James had then proceeded to tell a rather tipsy Lily that he was pirate, before falling over the plant pot he'd been giggling at minutes before. Then at midnight, Lily lead James up to the small balcony on her room to watch the fireworks, and when he kissed her – well she didn't say no. Smiling slightly at the memory, she giggled as James rubbed his forehead and laid flat out on his back, snapping his eyelids tightly shut. The curtains to the spare room were shut, Lily had an inner battle on whether or not to open them, knowing the light would further James' hangover, which she had to admit was hilarious.

"My head hurts." James moaned, covering his face with his hands. "Did someone play quidditch with my head?" James added, groaning.

"No – you just drank muggle Vodka James. It's stronger than you think." Lily giggled. She'd felt similar when she'd woken this morning too, Lily however had delved into a book of healing spells the week before to prepare for what was set to be a huge party on the eve of the New year, and with a small tap from her wand and a muttered incantation she was right as rain.

"And why can't I remember anything from last night?" he questioned.

"Well you did drink quite a lot…" Lily replied sarcastically and smirked, underneath his hands James groaned again. "So you don't remember anything? No kisses on the balcony?" Lily asked, raising at an eyebrow at her boyfriend.

"How could if forget that?" James replied, uncovering his face and winking, then groaning in pain.

"Here." Lily laughed as she tapped James' forehead with her wand – feeling the pain lift instantly, James felt human once again.

"That Vodka is strong stuff." James grumbled, sitting up and gesturing for Lily to sit next to him.

"Stronger than fire whiskey." Lily confirmed. "My cousins made you drink a shot of it every time someone said we were good together." Blushing slightly, Lily tried to look anywhere except for James' face, sensing her embarrassment, James leant into her ear and whispered.

"They must have said it a lot then." Only causing Lily to flush Scarlett.

"Um…come on, let's go get breakfast." Lily suggested jumping off the bed and crossing the floorboards towards the door - James hot on her tail at the prospect of food.

Lily and James had enjoyed the best Christmas of their lives, spending the whole holiday with their friends and family, laughing and joking, enjoying good food, the Christmas Jessica had was far from that. From the moment she had crossed the threshold into her grandparents' house she knew the holiday would be disastrous. Her grandfather had smothered her with kisses, his bristly beard scratching her face, and her grandmother had been far too cheerful – the false smiles and cheesy jokes made Jessica want to be sick; they were trying too hard to compensate for her parents not being there. Her eldest brother, Dylan, was ten years older than her at 27 he seemed to have taken the death of their parents the hardest of all, he sat in the chair in the corner of the sitting room for the whole holiday and barely said a word to anyone – he mumbled a hello when she arrived and that was it. Her other brother, Jake, was 20 and usually much brighter than the quiet Dylan, although he too seemed reserved, the fun loving aura that usually surrounded him was gone – faded. Everything seemed different, wrong even, it wasn't that her parents were gone; it was just how different everyone was acting. Jessica missed her parents every day; the gaping hole in her heart would never be filled, the pain was almost unbearable, but she knew she had to carry on, moping around and being miserable wouldn't bring them back, so she had to try and continue her life as they would have liked her too. Half-awake she gazed around her room on Christmas morning, expecting her mother to jump on her and yell 'MERRY CHRISTMAS!' and for her dad to jump out from behind the curtains of her window and shower her with presents – waking fully she knew that would never happen again, she'd never feel her mother's breath on her neck as she hugged her, never smell her father's aftershave, never see her mother's nostrils flare as she shouted at her or the way her father would demand to know every detail about any boy that she ever mentioned; knowing things like that would never happen again, left Jessica heartbroken.

A single silent tears slipped down her face, she wiped it away frustrated with herself for letting it slip from her eyes; she'd done all her crying back in September, no more tears were going to be spilled from her eyes. Forcing herself to be more cheerful she thought of her friends; James and Lily, how scared James would be meeting Arthur and Rose – he had no reason to be worried though, they were the most lovely people she'd ever met, and her smile widened as she thought about Sirius meeting Kathryn and Emrys Jones, Hestia's parents. Kathryn, a muggle, was the strict parent and would most likely grill Sirius on his career prospects and his intentions with her daughter, Emrys was a much more relaxed parent, being brought up in a pureblood household he had been used to strict punishment and was determined to never impose that on his only child, Hestia. Peter was off holidaying with his parents and Remus… well at that she sighed, there would undoubtedly be a full moon during the holidays and she doubted his parents would know how to deal with his transformations and he'd probably end up hurting himself, the thought made her feel sad again; but at least during the rest of the holidays he'd be in a household where he everyone was happy and full of Christmas cheer, something which Jess secretly longed for. She'd received presents and cards from all her friends which helped lighten her dark mood and the letter from Alice made her laugh, she was spending the Christmas holidays with Frank's family; everyone knew Frank's mother was a force to be reckoned with, but Alice explained she was even worse, Frank's father on the other hand she said seemed lovely, she couldn't understand how she could have ended up with him! There was a card from Remus, in which he apologised for not writing sooner but he just couldn't find the words, he wished her a merry Christmas and sarcastically reminded her to do her homework. Smiling to herself, she knew Remus would say something like that – once a prefect, always a prefect, she mused.

Her new year was even worse than her lonely Christmas which she spent alone in her bedroom; there had been another death eater attack the day before, an old pureblood family had been wiped out for speaking out for their muggle born neighbours, who had vanished without a trace. Jessica hoped they'd escaped and were in hiding although she highly doubted that, in the current climate no-one was safe, even pure bloods, the atmosphere in the house becoming more and more sombre at every death. Trying to drown their sorrows her grandfather, whose 'cheerful' mood had been gradually declining, drank brandy until the early hours of the morning, shouting out his hatred of the man who had taken his son and daughter -in-laws lives, despite his muggle brain not understanding the full scale of the war. Dylan sat in his chair, staring at the wall, barely even blinking. Jake downed bottles of fire whiskey in the garden until he passed out at around 11 o'clock and her grandmother engulfed by her own tears in a heap on the kitchen floor. The house was a mess; no-one seemed to have done anything else but mope since she'd arrived, the washing up hadn't been done since before Christmas, the carpet was crunching underfoot, in the muggle household they were banned from using magic, but Jessica didn't care, with a few flicks of her wand, the house returned to a satisfactory standard.

"I have to get out of here." She muttered under her breath. Taking one last look at her dishevelled family, and the state they were in she knew she should stay and attempt to sort them out, but the thought barely registered on her priority list; her family were past helping, she hated thinking like that but losing her parents had torn her family apart, Dylan had lost his job at the ministry and mostly sat alone in his parents' home most days rarely venturing out, Jake would bounce from one place to another never keeping a job for longer than a week and although he'd never admitted it, Jess knew he'd been in trouble with the police – muggle and magical. There was nothing she could do. With a final sigh, she packed up a small bag and walked out. Wracked with guilt, she tried to focus on something else, but her thoughts kept wandering back to her family. Reaching the end of the street, she checked around her, the street was clear, everyone was inside celebrating the coming New Year or out partying. As the fireworks began to shimmer and sparkle overhead, she apparated away with a small pop, turning her back on the household full of grief and misery.

**Authors note: I'm sorry it's a short chapter, and that it's so sombre and deep, but once I started I couldn't stop. I'm sorry if you don't like what Jess has done, but she has to get away, she has come to terms with her parents deaths and her family can't – she hasn't forgotten them, but she's accepted she can't live like her family is and feels she can't be part of them for a short while they come to terms with it like she has. And I know their reactions are kind of extreme, but everyone deal with grief in different ways - and this is theirs….**

**On another note, where do you think Jess is going and what do you think she'll do about her family? I've got an idea in my head but any other ideas would be greatly appreciated and again I'm so sorry for taking so long to update! And I'll try to make it lighter soon. **


	30. HeartBreak

**Author's note: I hope this quick update makes up for my absence for so long! This chapter is dedicated to **_**Mione Ravenclaw**_**, who always sends the most lovely reviews and genuinely makes me smile I dedicated this chapter to her, because amongst the conversations we've had Severus Snape has been a major topic, in her latest message she mentioned she was curious about what Snape, so when I came to writing a new chapter her comment strayed into my mind, and I thought we hadn't hear from old Snivellus in a while - giving me this chapter! I hope you like it and thank you **_**Mione Ravenclaw**_** for being so lovely **

Chapter 30:

Boarding to scarlet Hogwarts express, Severus Snape wondered why he was even going back to Hogwarts. After all he didn't need his NEWTs – he had a position high up in the ranks of the Death eaters where grades didn't matter. He was all for spending the rest of the year as his Christmas holiday had gone, brewing potions and working on defensive charms, the way he would rather spend his year. The only downside was he had to conduct his brewing under the watchful eye of Lucius Malfoy who had been sent to 'babysit' Severus on the Dark Lord's request and was to report to him the newest brew of the potion was done – leaving Severus all the time he needed to brew.

"_Severussss." Lucius drawled, elongating the last letter of his unlikely companion's name. "Please say you're nearly done, this hut is depressing." Severus had chosen a small wooden shack in the middle of the countryside to brew his potions, in the two weeks that Severus had been hauled up there the only companion he had was Lucius and the odd sheep wandering by. _

"_Patience Lucius." Severus chided, wishing Lucius would be gone, he was testing his nerves and Snape was close to breaking point. _

"_Seriously, this place is revolting." Lucius complained, taking his walking cane – which he didn't actually need, it was all for show – and poking at a patch of damp rising along the wall and the grass growing through the wood. Severus didn't care – this was the place he'd chosen, mainly for its secluded quality, but also for the fact he knew Lily's family had once spent their Christmas in a log cabin out here on the moor, and he was hoping this would be the case this year and that he'd be able to steal a glimpse of her without Potter glued to her side. Sadly this was not the case and thoughts of Lily Evans soon slipped from his mind as the cauldron bubbled and spat. _

"_It's done." Severus whispered some time later, his voice barely audible, he had no idea whether a minute, an hour or a whole day had passed since Lucius had last shown his distain towards the hut and the potions Severus was brewing. _

"_Sweet Merlin – Finally!" Lucius sighed with relief. Standing abruptly he stalked towards the door, almost wrenching it off its hinges in his attempt to get out. Cold air flooded through the open doorway sending a shiver through Severus' body and blew out the flame underneath his cauldron. _

"_It needs to brew for another three months, but after that it should be done." Severus shouted after him, Lucius nodded and apparated on the spot, off to tell the Dark Lord of this new development. Relieved to finally be alone, Severus pulled his cloak closer to his body, placed the cauldron lid on tightly and too apparated away from the secluded spot on the moor. _

_Landing at the end of Spinner's end, Snape took the short walk down to his mother's house. His father was long dead and his elderly mother was too lost in her own mind to understand whether Severus had been gone for an hour or a week, so slipping out the house to leave his potion was easy. Opening the door and trudging inside, he placed the cauldron under his bed, where it could brew without being disrupted until he could return in the Easter holidays to hopefully turn it in to the Dark Lord. _

"_Severus is that you?" he mother called out, her voice trembling and weak. Storming down the stairs, Severus came face to face with his mother at the bottom of the stairs. The once formidable Eileen Prince was now broken and frail, her skin sallow hung limply off her cheekbones. Her once healthy complexion had turned grey and she stood hunched over, the ravages of time breaking her body. Severus knew he himself would never have to succumb to the same fate as his mother, when his potion was finished, it would hopefully put a stopper in death and he would never have to grow old, live forever. _

"_Hello mother." Snape replied, no emotion in his voice. "I'm going out now." He added and pushed past her, opening the front door and leaving his mother standing in the hallway wondering whether her son had returned, or whether she'd been dreaming it. _

Settling in his seat, Severus' mind wandered to what had happened after he'd left his mother's house. The memory made him uncomfortable in his seat – he was thankful the other Slytherin boys had remained at school over the holidays so he had to compartment to himself, other they'd have demanded to know what had Severus Snape squirming in his seat, looking suspiciously forlorn.

_Reluctant to return home and face his mother, Severus walked to the end of spinner's end and around to the next road, Garden Street, the road which Lily Evans lived on, he hadn't meant to walk here, it was just where his feet had carried him, he was so used to walking this route that his feet went there on auto pilot… although he hadn't walked this route in a year and a half, not since the fateful day at the end of fifth year when Lily had vowed to never speak to him again, and spare a few odd words shouted or spat at him, she had kept her word. The houses surrounding Lily's were more up market to those where Severus lived – Spinner's end was regarded as a poor neighbourhood, despite the fact it back onto Garden Street, the road he found himself in now. The houses, made from red brick, all had perfect front gardens and neat lawns, tidy porches and white front doors. The whole street was a very clean and tidy place, the people were middle class but not snobby – whenever Severus had seen any of the occupants, they'd smiled at him and said good morning – all except Petunia Evans, who'd sneered at his clothes and laughed when he said he lived in Spinner's end. The memory still stirred a wave of irritation to seep through his body. Taking one last look down Garden Street, he turned his back to it and crossed the road, once again finding himself in a place so fraught with memories. _

_The park was the place where Severus had first spoken to Lily, the place where he'd first told her she was a witch and the place where Lily and he would often spend hours during their summer holidays, laughing and talking under the bright sunshine. Today was not like that at all, although the snow had melted and the grass underneath had dried out, the cold still bit, the clouds hung overhead like a ceiling of grey not letting the warm rays of sunshine through, mirroring Severus mind at that very moment. He was about to leave, his brain swimming with ghosts of his memories, when a noise snapped him out of his reverie: Lily Evans' laugh. Only this time it wasn't inside his head, it was out in the open. Seizing the opportunity, Severus decided there was no time like the present and that he would confront her now; he'd explain what had happened on that day at the end of fifth year, he'd voice his opinions on James and because of his sincerity she'd have no choice but to believe him. But another voice stopped him– not Lily's - but a male's. _

"_I don't understand… so Snow White was dead and the Prince kissed her and she came back from the dead?" James asked, still confused how muggles could count that as a fairy-tale, babbity rabbity was a fairy-tale, Snow White was not. _

"_Yes, romantic don't you think?" Lily replied, clasping her hands together in front of her chest. _

_Silently scolding himself for letting his emotions get the better of him, Severus turned to see if he could dart into the bushes and out of view before he was seen, but the bushes were too far, Lily or James would undoubtedly see him before he could make it there. Casting a quick disillusionment charm on himself, he squirmed as the feeling of an egg being cracked over his head quickly spread over his body, rendering his limbs and body invisible, just as Lily and James came into view. _

"_You look cute when you get cross." James cooed, flicking Lily's nose with the hand which wasn't tightly held around her waist. Leaving his grip, she carried on frowning. _

"_So being woken by true loves kiss isn't romantic?" Lily asked, stopping and raising an eyebrow. James who took a step forwards onto one of the swings and sat down – unbeknown to him, the very swing Lily had jumped off before Severus Snape had told her she was a witch. _

"_Not being woken by it, but true love's kiss – now that's romantic." He smiled. Leaning forward, James pulled Lily forward by her waist, so her face was level with his. _

_As Lily and James' lips met, Severus felt sick. His stomach flipped around and his heart pounded so hard he was sure Lily would be able to hear it, he was only three metres away, maybe less, not daring to move in case Lily realised he was there – unable to move, rooted to the spot, he was forced to watch the whole affair. The woman he loved kissing his bitter rival, him with his hands around her waist, particularly close to her backside, Lily hands wrapped around James' neck, playing with the ends of his hair above his neck, their bodies only centimetres apart. Fists curling into tight balls, anger rose inside Severus' chest – that should be him, not James. Lily should love him, not Potter. He had been her best friend for five years, he'd been the one to watch over her before she even knew who he was, he was the shoulder Lily would cry on when Potter's teasing got so much all she could do was cry; and yet here he was without her but James was there, tangled in her embrace. _

_It seemed an age before Lily and James parted, a small smile formed across her lips, James grinned. Not daring to look into James' eyes, Lily fiddled with a stray curl that fell across her face. Her heart was beating so fast that she couldn't count the beats, her stomach was doing flip flops, James had just implied she was his true love… her grin widened at the thought, she couldn't help it! Everything just seemed so perfect. Reaching out, James pushed the curl behind Lily's ear, his fingers grazing her cheek bone. The connection between James' fingers and her skin sent shivers down her spine and forced Lily to look into his face. As the green found the hazel, they both grinned. Lily wasn't sure how long they spent there, just smiling at each other, it could have been days for all she knew, time had seemed to stop and the whole world didn't matter, it was just her and James – as if nothing else existed, it was all forgotten in the flecks of gold and green in James' hazel eyes. Catching sight of her reflection in James' glasses brought Lily back to reality. Laughing lightly, she looked at her shoes, again not able to make eye contact with James. _

"_Hey." James almost whispered. Lily looked back into his face. "I love you Evans." Lily's heart did somersaults in her chest and she felt the biggest cheesiest grin spread across her face. James had said he loved many times, but it still made her stomach feel like it was on the moon every time he said it. _

_Severus felt the anger subside, and was replaced by something much uglier. Jealousy. He should be the one telling Lily he loved her, not James. He was jealous that James could lean in and kiss Lily, make her laugh and play with her hair and tell her he loved her. It was pure jealousy of James, but when Severus saw Lily's face his heart sank and the jealousy was replaced by a heart wrenching pain that felt like his whole chest would explode. The look in Lily's eyes said it all, she didn't have to say anything at all, but she did; she said the words that completely shattered his heart. _

"_I love you too Potter."_

_Lily leant in to kiss James again and seal the fate of the shattered remnants of Severus' heart. Her lips were only centimetres away from James' but just as their lips began to touch, they were forced apart._

"_COME ON, LET'S GO AND PLAY ON THE SWINGS!" a little voice bellowed. Lily and James sprung apart as soon as the voice pierced the air, both looking rather sheepish, but both wearing matching grins. James dragged his hand through his hair, ruffling his already messy locks, Lily played with the loose string on the edge of her cardigan. _

"_Hey Mr?" the little boy who had previously bellowed asked. James looked up, he hadn't realised the boy was so close, or he'd have got up and moved away from the beloved swings. James smiled encouragingly at the boy who looked embarrassed, James must have seemed like a giant to him. _

"_Can we play on the swings please?" the little girl next to him asked. She was slightly taller than the boy, with long blonde hair pulled into pigtails. Her chubby cheeks wobbled as she spoke and her denim dungarees were covered in flecks of mud and grass stains. The cold January air didn't seem to bother her, she was a wearing thin cardigan and no jacket. James had to admit, she was adorable, her little friend too. _

"_Sure." James replied with a smile. The little girl jumped onto the spare swing and instantly began swinging higher than Lily thought safe for such a young girl – Lily guessed the pair were around 4 or 5 years old, maximum. The boy however struggled to climb onto the swing, James sensing the boy's difficulty, lifted him onto the swing and gave him a small push to set the swing in motion. With a beam the boy, looked straight at James. _

"_Thanks Mr!" he shouted, soaring high above James' head, kicking his legs madly as he went. James laughed and watched the boy for a few moments, a smile crossing his face. _

"_Come on James, we should go." Lily whispered. James nodded, waving at the boy and girl as they soared on the swings, James and Lily made their way off the field and back towards Garden Street, hand in hand. _

_Severus didn't know what to do. The look in Lily's eyes as she had told James she loved him had broken Snape's heart. The pieces of his heart now lay broken inside the cavity of his chest, no longer beating. He wanted to curl up in a ball and cry. Muttering the counter charm to make himself visible again, he ignored the gasps and whispers of 'Wow! He just appeared!' 'Yeah, do you think he's magic?' from the small boy and girl on the swings, who had stopped swinging and were watching Snape with a look of amazement and fear. _

_Storming away from his position near the swings, Severus walked straight through the bushes and back in to Spinner's end. _

The memory had caused Severus' whole body to shake with anger, jealousy and heart break. Trying to push the flashback from his mind, he knew was failing as the hot salty tears began to spill from his coal eyes. Furiously wiping them away, he forced his thoughts back to the potion brewing and bubbling under his bed back in his elderly mother's home. It was the only thing keeping his life moving forward right now; but even thoughts of the Dark Lord and his big plans for Severus couldn't tear his mind away from Lily Evans, sweet Lily Evans, his Lily. The way she threw her head back when she laughed, the way her eyes sparkled when she got angry, or the creases that formed around her delicate lips as she smiled, he knew everything about her, every crevice of her face, every spot, dimple. But she was no longer his, as Lily would snidely remark: she had never been his and she never would be; that thought made Severus' heart shatter all over again. Potter had won, and he had lost. With that thought in his mind, he leant his head against the cold window pane and rode the rest of the train journey in silence with tears spilling from his eyes.

**Authors note: I hope this makes up for not updating for soooooo long! I'm so happy with this chapter – I don't know why, but I enjoyed writing it so much! I hope I managed to convey the emotions I wanted to show and that I did this moment justice! I've got big plans for some of the characters so watch this space – heck Severus has got a few big months coming up too… Hope you like it and remember to review - and if you have twitter, stick your name on the end of a review (hint hint) and I'll follow you! TTFN xxx**


	31. Improvement

**Chapter 31: Improvement**

**Authors note: I quite enjoyed writing the last chapter as Flashbacks – so I might start doing some more of those, makes the story a bit more interesting than just a straight chronological order let me know what you think and I'm sorry this has taken longer than some of you expected – I work in a café and I've burnt my finger really badly – on mushy peas none the less (I know it sounds stupid but it's a really bad burn) and it's been too painful to type so I've had to type all this with one hand as I apologise for any typing errors, now you can understand why thanks for being understanding **

"I swear – Sirius is the heaviest sleeper I've ever seen!" Hestia complained, flicking her long hair over one shoulder in irritation. "I had to push him out of his bed to wake him and then he fell asleep on the floor anyway! And he snores! I could hear him from the next door room!" she added. It seemed her holiday with Sirius had not gone as well as planned. "He wasn't like that at the Potter's! I'm sure he was doing it to annoy me!" Hestia was ranting, at times like this, the girls would all be sat around apparently listening intently, however Lily was remembering her holiday with James which had been perfect in every way and Alice was remembering the look on Augusta Longbottom's face when she had been introduced as Frank's girlfriend – her face had been like curdled milk, she had warmed slightly to Alice, although it had been a sensation of pure relief when she had boarded to Hogwarts Express back to school with her three friends with Mrs Longbottom nowhere to be seen – Thank Merlin. The girls were all sat in their dormitory, the fire crackling spreading its light across the entire room, casting a warm comforting glow. Laying flat out on her bed, Hestia took out her wand and changed the colours of the curtains around her bed to a dazzling green, then a deep purple and vivid blue – quite absorbed in the colour change charm, she had taken a momentary breather from ranting about her boyfriend – clearly all was not well in Hestia and Sirius land if the look on her face was anything to go by. Lily sat in front of the fire, enjoying the feel of warmth against her skin; Alice too lay on her bed, but on her stomach, absently flicking through a copy of Witch Weekly whilst mentally recalling uncomfortable memories of Frank's mother. Jessica, sat on the floor leaning on her bed, looked around her friends, none of them knew what had happened during her holidays, she lied and said it was lovely, plastering on a smile they seemed to believe her, although by the look in Lily's eye Jessica knew that would not be the last time her holiday was mentioned. In fact, Jessica was quite ashamed of her behaviour during the holidays, running away? Her cheeks flushed slightly at the memory, she hoped none of her friends would see or she'd have to blame her flushing on the heat of the fire. Uncomfortably Jess recalled her Christmas Holidays.

_Apparating from the end of her street with her suitcase, Jessica had no idea where to go, but when she opened her eyes she found herself in Hogsmeade village. It seemed the New Year cheer spread into the wizarding world too; the Three Broomsticks seemed to be full to bursting, lights flashing as raucous laughter spilling out of the door as well as the unmistakable alcoholic aroma of Fire Whiskey. Sighing, she looked up towards Hogwarts castle, majestic against the ink blue sky. Taking out her wand, she used a shrinking charm on her suitcase and placed the now pocket sized bag in the inside pocket of her gillet. Pulling the muggle clothing closer to her body she tried to block out the cold, which was biting at the exposed flesh on her neck. Making a split second decision she began to walk towards the castle, a thin dusting of snow crunching underfoot. Slipping on a patch of ice, her feet slid out from underneath her as she landed flat on her chest, knocking the breath from her lungs. Regaining her balance and taking a deep gulp of air, she swore under her breath. Continuing on her journey up towards the castle – this time more carefully – she managed to make it there with no more falls. Finding herself at the gates, her heart sank, it was the holidays, they weren't expecting any students back for another week, the gates were locked, she wouldn't be able to enter the castle. You couldn't apparate into Hogwarts, she'd read that in Lily's favourite book 'Hogwarts A History' and with the extra protection enchantments been put on the castle with the uprising of Lord Voldemort she doubted a simple Alhomora would work on the lock. Suddenly feeling very vulnerable and very very alone, Jess didn't know what to do. Feeling a tear slip down her cheek, she furiously wiped it away. She had no money to book a room at the Three Broomsticks and she doubted they had any with the amount of people in there tonight, she couldn't go to Lily or Hestia's and ruin their holidays with Sirius and James and she had no idea where Frank Longbottom lived to see Alice. Remus was the last person she wanted to see right now and Peter was away with his parents. Just when she was about to resign herself to a night in the freezing cold, she was broken out of her sullen mood by a rather stern voice from the other side of the gates. _

"_Silvers?" the voice questioned. Turning her head sharply, her fingers tightly clasped around her wand – just in case -she found her face to face with her head of house, Minerva McGonagall. "What on earth are you doing out here in the cold child, come in or you'll catch your death of cold." Nodding numbly, Jessica allowed herself to be ushered though the gates, now open, and up to the castle by the deputy headmistress. _

_Alone in her thoughts, Jessica didn't quite comprehend where she was being led, it was only once she stepped on the marble staircase, a mumbled word to the gargoyle and a swirling sensation in her stomach did she realise where she was, she had only been up these once before, the day her parents had died, the staircase to Professor Dumbledore's office. _

"_Albus." McGonagall announced, pushing open the heavy door, Dumbledore, looked around stroking the red and gold feathers of the most beautiful bird Jessica had ever seen to look her straight in the eye. _

"_Miss Silvers, what a pleasant surprise. Leave her here Minerva, we can have a talk." The old wizard smiled, a sparkle spreading through his piercing blue eyes and radiated across the room, instantly filling Jessica with a warm fuzzy feeling. Minerva reluctantly nodded and took her leave, her footsteps becoming increasingly quieter against the marble steps until they went silent. "So, Jessica, what brings you back to Hogwarts?" the Headmaster inquired, his voice soft and reassuring; and with that, Jessica spilled the entire story of the disastrous Christmas and horrible New Year. She hadn't realised but tears were spilling from her eyes as she relayed her story, Albus Dumbledore nodding encouragingly. _

"_Then I found myself in Hogsmeade." She continued. "And somehow ended up here." She finished with a large intake breath, which sounded suspiciously like a covered up sob. _

"_Well," Professor Dumbledore replied. "I am quite disappointed that you ran away Jessica, you are stronger than that, where's your Gryffindor courage?" Feeling slightly ashamed as his words washed over her, she took a sudden interest in her shoes, staring at the intently as she tried to stop the tears from falling. "Nevertheless - I doubt I would have done anything different if I was in your position at your age." Smiling for the first time that night, Jessica knew someone had understood her and felt much better for it. _

"_However, I still don't feel running away was your best option." Pausing, he seemed to be deciding what to say next, his eyes looked puzzled - almost as if sealing with a difficult memory or having an inner battle with himself, however before she could work it out, it was gone. "I want you to go back to your family – but first, spend the night here, write to your family and explain where you are, I will deliver it myself and convey your message. I will also offer any assistance I can." Dumbledore finished, Jessica nodded feeling like a pressure had been lifted from her shoulders. "Your dormitory should be open, go and get some rest and bring your letter to me in the morning, I will deliver it then. Goodnight Jessica." he added with a smile, his half-moon glasses wiggling as his lips curved. Realising she hadn't actually spoken a word since Dumbledore had started speaking, she smiled. _

"_Thank you professor." She croaked, her voice still shaking. Taking her leave she stood and made to leave the room truly grateful for what the headmaster was doing for her. _

_Relaxing on the familiar soft mattress of her bed in the Gryffindor 7__th__ year girl's dormitory, she knew she'd sleep well, despite the fact her three friend's beds were empty, the first time in seven years she'd slept in the dormitory alone, the thought was slightly unsettling but the aching in her head and the heaviness of her eyelids she succumbed to her tiredness and fell into an easy sleep. _

_Waking early, Jessica felt refreshed, despite barely scraping six hours sleep, she felt the best she'd done all holiday. Crackling and spitting slightly, the fire burnt brightly, the only light in the dark room, the sun still hadn't risen in the sky and filled the scenery with light. Climbing out of her bed, she made her way to the chest of drawers by Lily's bed, always the perfect student she had a spare pot of ink and sheets of parchment. Taking the pot and a sheet of parchment, she took her battered quill from her suitcase (now back to its original size) and began writing her letter. _

_Jessica had no idea how long she'd been sat there, on the floor of her dormitory writing but she'd taken three sheets of Lily's parchment – she'd replace it later – and her head was feeling significantly clearer. The suns rays were beginning to beginning the poke out from behind the hills and the room was getting lighter by the minute. Hunger pained her stomach but she continued writing, she needed to spill everything that was swimming around in her brain, finally signing her name, she knew she'd said everything that needed to be said. Taking a quick shower, she washed and dressed in a pair of simple jeans and her gillet jacket as fast as she could and made her way back down to the deserted common room, she wondered if she was the only Gryffindor staying at Hogwarts during the holidays, she was brought out of her thoughts by a tap at the window. One of the school owls was knocking at the window with its beak, obviously eager to get someone's attention. Opening the window, she saw a letter tied around its foot and untied it, upon doing this, the owl flew off into the early morning light, leaving Jess with the letter. Her name was written in green curled ink, across the front of the envelope. Opening it carefully, she was reminded of Lily's letter that she received unexpectedly, shuddering at the thought she tore open the letter to find a small piece of parchment, not bearing a letter from Lord Voldemort, but a single word 'Rosy Apples' wondering what on earth the parchment meant, she stuffed it into her pocket and exited the common room, making her way down to professor Dumbledore's office. _

_Upon reaching the office, Jessica stopped… she had no idea what the password was. Wracking her brain, she knew Dumbledore hadn't told her the password last night; she tried to think if he'd subtly slipped it into the conversation, but she couldn't think of that either. Remembering the parchment in her pocket, she brought it out and re-read it again. 'Rosy Apples' it couldn't be could it? Thinking it was worth a try she spoke the words and the staircase began to move –hopping on, she couldn't quite believe the password to professor Dumbledore's office was Rosy Apples, shaking her head, she knew she should have suspected something like that, after all this was Albus Dumbledore! Reaching the office, Jessica smiled a genuine smile – something about the way Dumbledore looked at her; his eyes seemed to be able to look straight through you, see your darkest secrets and your most greatest desired, and without her saying a word, he would know exactly how she felt. _

"_This is my letter professor." Jessica spoke shattering the stillness of the office. _

"_Thank you." The headmaster replied, talking the parchment from her, it was thick – at least a few sheets of parchment, she had obviously poured her heart out with her blue ink. Blushing slightly at the thought of Dumbledore reading her letter, she tried to calm herself down, breathing deeply she began to feel better. After a few moments of comfortable silence, Jessica sat down in the chair opposite the headmaster, who was reading through a document on his desk and signing his name at the bottom with flourish, the phoenix (who Jess had been informed was called Fawkes) sat on a perch at his side, his black eyes flicking between Dumbledore's parchment and Dumbledore's face, it was fairly comical, he looked to be reading along with Dumbledore, the thought made her smile. After a few more moments, Jessica gathered up all the Gryffindor courage she possessed and asked the question that had been drifting in her mind all morning. _

"_What now?" she asked, trying to make her voice sound braver than she felt. _

"_Well, we deliver your letter." Albus Dumbledore replied with a smile. Jessica nodded, somewhat numbly, and followed the headmaster down the stairs from his office and through the corridors of Hogwarts towards the entrance hall, where they made their way through the doors and down towards Hogsmeade. Jessica expected the walk to be awkward, after all Dumbledore was her headmaster and Merlin knows how old he was but she was pleasantly surprised to find it wasn't. No other students seemed to be around, either it was too early – she noted the clock in Dumbledore's office read half past seven, or simply that there were virtually no students still at Hogwarts this Christmas holidays. _

"_Pear drop?" Dumbledore asked as Jessica walked beside him, matching his pace. The scenery was particularly beautiful this morning, a small dusting of snow had fallen overnight and had replenished the melting stock of yesterday. Crunching under her feet Jessica remembered the trips to Hogsmeade with her friends the year before, when it had started snowing so heavily they couldn't see where they were walking and Remus had finally found them, looking incredibly like snowmen, four hours later. The memory brought a smile to her lips._

"_Yes please." She replied to the headmaster and took one of his sweets thankfully. _

"_Have you heard from your friends this holiday?" The headmaster asked, his eyes glazing over the scenery before him, snow topped hills, the shrieking shack in the distance – even knowing that place wasn't actually haunted didn't stop Jessica being scared of it, an involuntary shiver spread through her body. "I do love to hear about my students." The professor added. Jessica smiled, the conversation was surprisingly easy and relaxed, more like a conversation with a favourite uncle as opposed to your headmaster. _

"_Alice is scared of Frank's mother, Sirius is terrified of Hestia's and James and Lily sound just about ready to get married." Jessica added with a smile. _

"_Nothing from Mr Lupin?" he asked, his blue eyes sparkling. _

"_No…" Jessica lied, there had been a Christmas card and box of chocolate frogs from her favourite marauder but with the chaos of her Christmas she had never replied to his owl. Feeling the heat radiating from her cheeks she knew Dumbledore would never find her lie believable. _

"_I see." Dumbledore nodded, playing along with her ridiculous charade. "Shall we go inside?" Dumbledore asked, gesturing to the door of The Three Broomsticks. The conversation had flowed so easily, she hadn't realised they had already made it down into Hogsmeade village. Jessica nodded enthusiastically, she loved this place, and aside from Hogwarts this would be the place she would love to spend her days. Entering through the open doorway a wave of heat spread over her body, not realising how cold she must have been, she was thankful for the sudden warmth. The place was relatively tidy, there were a few reminders of last night frivolity left though, mainly in the form of three drunk wizards fast asleep in one of the corner booths, fire whiskey bottles clutched tightly to their chests. _

"_Hello Rosmerta!" Dumbledore chimed, smiling at the witch who stood behind the bar. Jessica had seen Madame Rosmerta many times before and smiled back from Dumbledore's side. _

"_Hello Albus, Jessica." she cooed back, fixing them with a smile as she said their names. A tall witch, she stood at nearly the same height as the headmaster, with straight brown hair which hung down to her waist with amber eyes which reminded Jessica of warm butter beer. "What can I do for you this morning?" she asked, slightly curious as to what could bring them into her pub on a New Year's morning. _

"_A butter beer for Jessica here and one of your finest breakfasts. I have some delivering to do, I'll be back later." He smiled, handing over a few coins from his robe pocket. _

"_It's on the house." Rosmerta smiled, shaking her head and refusing to take the coins from the old wizard. _

"_Well how about I help you clean up instead?" Jessica offered, she always loved this place so why not help Madame Rosmerta behind the bar and with some cleaning, it was the least she could do. Rosmerta thought on the offer for a second or two. _

"_Alright then Jess, I'll do your breakfast then you can give me a hand getting rid of those three." The landlady replied, gesturing to the three wizards who were twitching in their sleep. _

"_Well I'll be off then. I'll collect you later Miss Silvers." Professor Dumbledore added and with one of his trademark smiles as he apparated on the spot. _

_Eating possibly the best breakfasts she had ever tasted, (eggs, bacon, sausages, friend bread, hash browns, tomato, mushrooms, beans and a side order of toast) Jessica felt so full she thought she'd have to roll around the pub. Washing up her plate she help Rosmerta get rid of the three wizards by sobering them up with a coffee and then sending them on their way, she swept and mopped and later on helped serve drinks to the few customers who dared venture out on the cold New Year day. Hours went by like minutes and before Jessica knew it the clock had struck 3PM. _

_At half past, the headmaster breezed into the pub, Jessica thanked Rosmerta for her kindness and before she knew it, she was back in her front room, surrounded by her grandparents and brothers, all looking shamefaced. Her grandparents apologised, Jess didn't know quite what for but she nodded anyway. Jake had sobered up and Dumbledore seemed to have shown him the error of his ways when it came to drinking, Dylan looked to have had a cheering charm and perhaps a pepper up potion as well and he looked much better, her grandparents had been put in touch with a wizard grief counsellor and were looking to start with him the next day. There was still a slightly uncomfortable atmosphere and although the first few seeds of change had been sown, it would be a long time until they were ready to flower. Although Jessica was over joyed – this was much more than she had ever expected. _

"_Thank you." Jessica breathed as she showed Dumbledore to the door. A smile unfurled across his face, the creases in his face lifting, apart from those smile lines round his mouth which seemed to deepen. Jessica noted he looked younger when he smiled. _

"_You are very welcome Miss Silvers. Just promise me you won't run away again?" his eyes glittered. _

"_I promise." Jessica smiled as she opened the door and the Professor apparated back to Hogsmeade. She had always known Dumbledore was a special man, but what he had done with her family was spectacular. Over the next few days Jessica felt a change in her family, it wasn't a significant change, but everything seemed to be on the road to recovery, a light at the end of the tunnel. Dylan was still quiet and would often be found staring into space but he at least was talking, he had smiled when Jessica had cracked a joke and let out a small chuckle at Jake's bed hair. Jake hadn't touched a drop of fire whiskey and her grandparents – although there were still plenty of tears – said their counsellor was helping a great deal with coming to terms with the circumstances of their son's death. Life seemed to be back on the mend, but as soon as Jessica was finally being able to stand being around her family, she had to return to school. _

"Honestly and his hair in the morning is just so perfect, it's so annoying!" Hestia almost shouted. She was still ranting. Jessica sighed; she'd tell her friends about her eventful Christmas, but not right now, she was still embarrassed by her running away - as Dumbledore had said her, where was her Gryffindor courage?! She put the uncomfortable memories of her silly actions to the back of her mind and threw herself into Hestia's ranting.

"Merlin, how terrible!" Jessica giggled and threw a pillow at Hestia's head.

"Tragic!" Lily agreed.

"It's not bloody funny!" Hestia chuckled.

Relaxing back into the new term, Jessica settled back against her bed and closed her eyes, only to be brought out of her relaxation by Lily's shriek.

"CAN SOMEONE EXPLAIN WHY I ONLY HAVE HALF A BOTTLE OF INK AND VIRTUALLY NO PARCHMENT LEFT?"

Climbing into bed and ignoring Lily's shrieks, Jessica was too tired to explain, she'd tell Lily tomorrow, when she'd hopefully calmed down… hopefully….

**Authors note: sorry to do another chapter as a flashback, but I thought it was important to tell you what had happened to Jess after she left her grandparents' house and good old Dumbledore sorting everything out although it's not perfect with Jess' family, it's on the mend, which was actually so nice to write after chapter 29! And thanks to those who reviewed with messages of support for Jess I'll let you in one a secret - there's something big in store for Jess, so keep your eyes peeled! And thanks for being patient with me! Thank you for reading and remember to review! TTFN xxxx**


	32. Conflict

**Author's note: Sorry it took me so long to update! I've just had no time to write! But here is chapter 33 – and just to let you know, I've started to write the next chapter so hopefully an update will be quicker! Sorry for taking so long **** hope you like it!**

Chapter 32:

January passed so quickly that if you blinked you missed it. February chugged past at a faster pace than the Hogwarts Express. March brought temporary relief in the form of the Easter holidays which ran through the beginning of April. Lily fell more deeply in love with James than she ever thought possible. Hestia and Sirius bickered like an old married couple. Alice broke down with the pressure of NEWTs, which Lily promptly reminded were only months away, and had to be consoled by Frank. Jessica received regular letters from her family, Dylan had got a new job in Diagon Alley and Jake was working in a part time job in the ministry. The death eater attacks became more frequent and almost every day there was a new report of a muggle born family being murdered which made Lily feel sick with worry. The ministry seemed to be doing nothing and James was sending angry owls to his parents almost every day complaining about the Ministry's ineffective actions. Peter was drowning in school work and Remus well, he was revising thoroughly already; most of his nights, when not on prefect patrols, were spent with Lily in the library going over incantations, spells and ingredients for potions, much to the distain of James and the others who found this incredibly boring. Hestia, although she wouldn't admit it was already revising and Jessica, despite her confident outer shell, was feeling sick with worry about her NEWTs. Sirius on the other hand brushed off the threat of the looming exams.

"I'm Sirius Black – I'm going to ace these exams and you know it Evans." He quipped, to which Lily threw him a dark look and settling back to the transfiguration homework which McGonagall had set them, the third piece this week.

"I just don't understand this!" Lily almost screamed, slamming her quill down onto the table in the common room with frustration; she hated not understanding something. Several younger students eyed her cautiously, knowing the red head's fiery temper. With not long to go until their NEWT transfiguration exam Lily was panicking, if she couldn't master the theory behind some of the spells then she wouldn't be able to pass the exam – and in Lily's mind, anything part from an O was unacceptable. "Help me James!" she pleaded, squeezing James' arm, hard. Waking up from the dream he was having about he and Lily getting married, James was greeted by the red head herself, staring back at him desperately and somewhat furiously – it wasn't his fault that the sofa's in the common room were ridiculously comfy and that it had been a full moon the night before - he was tired!

"Help me James; I can't get my head around it." Lily moaned, hanging her head in her hands, and if James the transfiguration genius couldn't explain it to her then no-one could. James sighed, being brilliant at transfiguration came naturally to him he never had revised it, and being stuck with Lily moaning for hours on end trying to explain it was something that he couldn't be bothered with today.

"Well Lily," Sirius interrupted from Lily's other side, leaning back on the sofa he stretched his hand sighed above his head and stifled a yawn, like James he had probably been dozing too; James and Sirius were the only ones brave enough to be around Lily when she was revising or doing homework – bar Remus who seemed to have a calming effect on her. Hestia had learned very early on in their Hogwarts days, if Lily was revising you left her well alone unless you wanted her to hex you.

"Shut it Black – I'm talking to your boyfriend." Lily snapped. James snorted, Sirius burst out into bouts of raucous laughter and the first years in the common room turned round to stare confused.

"_Is Potter going out with Black?" one of them whispered. _

"_I thought he was going out with Evans?" another whispered back. _

Lily hung her head in her hands again – it was clear, not much revision was going to be done with the two marauders around.

"Lily!" came a shout from the other side of the common room. Lifting her head, Lily saw Remus standing in the open portrait hole gesturing madly for her to follow. Sighing, she heaved herself from the chair and packed her things quickly into her bag, she hurried away towards Remus who was still grinning in their direction. As Lily made to leave James shot his fellow marauder a dark look, Remus grinned and winked as Lily scrambled out the portrait hole and he followed.

"What's up Remus?" Lily asked.

"Nothing – you just looked like you needed to get away from James and Sirius for a while." He smirked. She sighed and nodded, it was true… James and Sirius just weren't exactly what you'd call great revision partners. Making their way outside Lily pulled her robes closer around her; despite it being April the cold wind was still blowing full force. They stood for a few minutes in the courtyard in comfortable silence before making their way to sit down on the window ledge. Plucking up the courage to ask Lily what he'd been dying to ask all day he found words fault him. After a few seconds of looking like a goldfish, Remus gave up, Lily however had noticed.

"You want to know what I'm going to do about the invite I'm guessing?" she asked, staring intently into Remus's blue eyes, making him slightly uncomfortable with the intentness she seemed to be studying him with.

"In so many words…" he trailed off, breaking eye contact. Lily sighed and brought a piece of pink paper from the pocket of her robes. Fingering the delicate calligraphy of the wedding invite she felt the anger rise in her chest.

"Are you going to go?" Remus asked, not quite wanting to ask the question which had been on his lips since Lily had received the letter yesterday morning. Lily, not realising he'd been frowning, sighed again and folded the paper and put it back in her pocket.

"No, I don't think so." She put bluntly.

"Why not, aren't you bridesmaid?" Remus asked gently, rubbing Lily's knee encouragingly. Remus, aside from Hestia, was the first person that she truly opened up to about her difficult relationship with her sister, and unlike Hestia he wouldn't put in comments about how he'd love a sister, which Hestia tended to do – not making the situation any easier.

"Mum said I would be… I don't know why she said it though; it was obvious Petunia would never allow it." Lily replied, the childhood nickname she had for her sister long forgotten. Tears pricked her eyes but she supressed them with a deep breath. Things had used to be so different, her and Tuney had been inseparable for years, despite their difference in personalities; Petunia played with dolls and held tea parties for her teddies, Lily would often cut all the hair (and often the head) off her Barbie dolls and accidentally smashed the pottery, but that all changed once Lily started Hogwarts, she had barely had a civil conversation with her sister since she had started the school.

"What did she say?" Remus asked, knocking Lily out of her thoughts.

"She sent a letter – I burned it." Lily replied flatly, Remus didn't push the matter any further, if Lily didn't want to talk about it then there was no need pushing the subject. Leaving Lily to her memories, he made his excuses and left, leaving Lily sitting on the courtyard wall her mind swimming with the ghosts of her past.

Despite attempting to burn the words out of her mind by furiously throwing the crumpled parchment her sister had sent her into the fire, Lily couldn't remove the words which had imprinted themselves onto her brain with just one read. When their mother was around, Petunia had always taken a front of _'if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all'_ but in print she could say what she liked. Each furious sentence and scathing remark was not tattooed on to Lily's brain.

'_Why would I want a freak like you for a bridesmaid?! Mother was kidding right, because I wouldn't want someone like you overshadowing the wedding with your disgusting magic tricks and if you even dare to think about bringing that creature you call a boyfriend then I will hate you forever. I'm only inviting you because mother says I have to. But you will sit at the back where no-one can see you.'_

And that was just the half of it. Each line more and more insulting. It was in moments like that, that Lily could have quite happily used any of her arsenal of hexes and jinxes on her sister and feel no remorse; she just made her so angry! And how could she call James a creature?! He was the most lovely and genuine person Lily had ever met, sure enough he used to be an arrogant git but he'd changed, and compared to Vernon he was practically an angel. It was bad enough she insulted James, but she'd never even met him! After she had stormed out of the house on New Year's Eve and refused to even see James, she had spent the entire length of Lily's visit at Vernon's parents' house, refusing to step foot in the house whilst Lily was home.

Lily had only met Vernon once – that was all she'd been allowed at a dinner her mother had cooked – and he had been truly horrible to her. He had told her he was sympathetic to her, being such a freak of nature. Lily had been horrified and promptly levitated a glass of water over his head which she'd then spun upside down, tipping its contents over his fat head before storming up to her bedroom. She had then refused to come out, despite the pleas of her parents, however she did make an appearance for dessert, then offering to do the washing up, levitating the plates over to the sink and animating a scrubbing brush and sponge whilst still sat at the table, much to the annoyance of Petunia and Vernon, who had turned purple with rage. Promptly five minutes later he had stormed out and Lily hadn't seen him since.

In that moment, Lily had made up her mind up, she would not go to Petunia's wedding and she decided if Petunia didn't want anything to do with her, then she didn't want anything to do with her either.

"What do you mean you're not going?!" James demanded on patrols that night. "Did you not listen to your mum at Christmas? She said you're going and that you have no choice."

"Well I'm not going." Lily replied bluntly. James threw his hands in the air, he didn't know what to say, Lily had decided she was going and she was not budging. "I don't know what you're so annoyed about, it's not _your_ sister's wedding." Lily snapped.

"What?!" James replied, daring Lily to repeat her last sentence. His eyes flared, Lily who usually would have done anything to avoid an argument with James, felt frustration and anger flow out of her and snapped.

"I said it's not _your_ sister's wedding." She repeated. Her hands curling into fists, she stared into James face; he was struggling to control his rage.

"I cannot believe you are being so stubborn Lily! What about your poor mum, she'd expecting you to be there!" James shouted.

"Me, stubborn?! Did you read the letter she wrote me James?! Have you lived with someone telling you that you're a freak and won't even acknowledge that you're even human for the last seven years?! No, so don't even start." Lily screamed back.

"You're just being stubborn for the sake of it! Why don't you just go Lily!" James shouted back, not even bothering to keep his voice down, their bellowing would probably wake the whole castle but frankly he didn't care. There used to be something so addictive about arguing with Lily, something that he thrived on. The way her eyes flashed and the way her lip curled as she spat a reply at him. If you'd asked him this time last year, he'd have said she looked down right sexy when she argued, now she looked terrifying and it brought back all the memories of old times and how they'd changed, the thought brought a faint smile to his lips.

"Don't smirk at me James Potter!" she spat. James' brow furrowed and he shook his head.

"I was going to give in and let you win, because I hate arguing with you; but now I frankly don't care Lily. Good night." James sighed. Turning round her began to walk away, his footsteps echoing against the silence of the air.

Suddenly realising what she'd done, Lily ran after him.

"James!" she called out his name, but he was nowhere to be seen. Heart pounding, her feet slapped the cold stone floor as she ran. Tears threatened to escape her eyes and stream down her face, her hair flying out wildly behind her as she ran.

"James!" she shouted again. He was nowhere; she couldn't even hear his footsteps any more. She wasn't even sure where she was. Holding her head in her hands, she tried to restrain the endless tears which were threatening to fall. Her and James and just had their first real fight, and over Petunia of all things! She swore under her breath, her head still in her hands. It was just then that Lily felt a pair of strong muscular arms wrap around her, she leant in to inhale the smell of James, but pulled away quickly. She wasn't face to face with James, but Sirius. Not the marauder she wanted.

"Come here." He soothed, pulling Lily close again. "Sshhh." He whispered, stroking her hair as she burrowed her head into the crease between his head and his neck, but failing to feel the comfort she longed for.

She wasn't sure how long she stood there in Sirius' arms, but he didn't try to push her away or get her to tell him what had happened, he just held her.

"I need to go…" Lily almost whispered, pulling away, trying to break free.

"No you don't." Sirius replied. He released her from his arms but still kept a firm supportive arm around her shoulders. She tried to shrug his arm off but he kept it there firmly. Dragging her feet, Lily shuffled back to the common room, which was deserted at this late hour. Sirius gave her a gentle push up the stairs and she sloped up towards her dorm. Alice and Jessica were already snoring softly, but Hestia was wide awake waiting for Lily to return.

"Lily? Is that you?" she whispered into the darkness. Lily couldn't reply, her voice cracked when she tried to speak and all she let out was a strangled sob. "Oh baby…" Hestia soothed. She strode over to Lily and threw her arms around her neck, pulling her close. Lily felt more tears prick her eyes but she tried with all her might to keep them in, only letting a few spill down her cheeks, leaving tracks of glistening tears down her pale flesh of her cheeks.

"What happened?" Hestia asked, not bothering to be quiet and not wake Alice or Jessica. She cupped Lily's face in her hands and looked directly into her best friend's eyes. Lily shook her head; a nervous chuckle escaped her throat.

"We had a fight…" she managed before choking back another sob.

"Sshhh." Hestia mumbled, pulling Lily close again and pressing her face into her best friend's shoulder. Lily and James had had a fight. This was not good…

"I should sleep…" Lily muttered, not believing she'd actually be able to sleep that night at all. Hestia nodded, tears pricking in her own eyes, seeing her best friend so devastated was heart breaking.

"My bed." Hestia commanded imperiously, pointing towards her own bed. Lily crawled into Hestia's bed, and she settled beside her. Snuggled close to Hestia Lily felt herself become a little calmer, although the thought of her fight with James was still weighing heavy in her chest, a weight which she knew could only be lifted by James himself.

After what seemed like hours, but in reality were only minutes, Hestia watched Lily finally succumb to her tiredness and close her eyes and slip into an uneasy sleep. Checking her watch on the bedside table, it read, quarter to two.

'Flippin' great.' Hestia muttered, she was really not destined to get any sleep. It wasn't like she hadn't tried to sleep – she'd gone to bed at half ten, like usual, but something felt wrong and she'd stayed awake tossing and turning until Lily had come in from her rounds at just gone one. Slipping out of the covers she was careful not to wake Lily, she kissed her forehead lightly and Lily smiled slightly in her sleep, making Hestia smile herself too. Padding almost silently across the floorboards, she opened the door as little as she could to avoid the creak and hurried down the staircase to the bottom where she turned sharply and up the opposite staircase towards the boy's dormitory.

The Marauders were all still wide awake. James laid on his bed, absently playing with a snitch, a habit he'd broken in the beginning of sixth year to impress Lily, now after their fight he found himself playing with it again to take his mind of his whirring head.

"She looked devastated Prongs…" Sirius mumbled, not quite knowing whether he should mention Lily… he'd been sneaking around the corridor to get to the kitchens under James' invisibility cloak when he'd seen James and Lily rowing, it had not been pleasant…

"You think I don't know!" James snapped. "Merlin, why was I so stupid?!" he muttered to himself angrily, letting the snitch fly free and holding his heads in his hands, shaking his head slightly. The snitch flew around the room, it flew around Peter's head a few times, and nearly hit Remus' head before flying back into James' top drawer where it knew it was safe.

"You get up there and apologise to her now!" Hestia demanded, bursting threw the door and pointing animatedly at James.

"Hest sssh, you'll wake the whole tower!" Sirius hissed gesturing to the door which was wide open. Remus cast a quick silencio charm - the last thing they needed was McGonagall storming in and aggravating the situation – then he'd defiantly not get any sleep then!

"Don't worry Sirius; Lily's sobs already did that." She replied icily. James' winced and looked down at his feet, cursing himself for bringing up the subject of Petunia's wedding.

"Come on Hest that was uncalled for…" Sirius urged.

"Now it wasn't!" she shouted. "You know what her relationship is like with her sister! And yet you still brought it up!" Hestia was fuming, her knuckles white as she dug her nails into the soft flesh of her palm.

"She told you?" James replied, his voice almost a whisper.

"I put two and two together." Hestia snapped. The hurt expression on James' face and the embarrassment on Sirius and Remus' face told her she'd guessed right. Peter absently stared out of the window – he didn't like confrontation, it was all a bit too much for him to handle. Plus the sandman had been trying to collect him since ten o'clock, he could feel his eyelids getting heavier, trying to force him into sleep, but with the racket going on here, he knew that would be nigh on impossible. Remus nervously wrung his hands together, for all his impressive intelligence, he never knew how to deal with confronting situations, so let Sirius and James take the lead.

"Can I see her?" James croaked, finally meeting Hestia steely gaze.

"No." she put bluntly. "She's asleep. You'll have to apologise in the morning now, and it had better be a bloody good one." With a flick of her long hair, she turned on her heel and left, storming down the stairs, stomping her feet on every step probably waking up all of Gryffindor tower in the process.

"Crap." Was all James could say, leaning back against his headboard covering his face with his hands. Removing his glasses, he delicately placed them on the table beside his bed and rubbed his face ruggedly. The other three marauders looked at him with worried expressions. Drawing the curtains around his bed, James shut them out, closing his eyes to see the only person he wanted to see right now – Lily.

Sure he'd had girlfriends before Lily, probably more than average, (Sirius definitely had – James had lost count of the amount of times he'd brought girls back to their dormitory or spent night in theirs) but Lily was the only one James had ever loved, he'd loved her since he was 11 years old, all the others were just, others… something to pass the time, they'd never meant anything to him, so when they argued he felt nothing. Now – with Lily – he felt like his heart was being ripped out. He stared at the ceiling, not quite knowing how he'd make it up to her tomorrow, but he'd waited this long to get her, there was no way he was going to lose her now!

The next morning, Lily woke early; Hestia woke as soon as Lily started to move beside her. She shoved Lily into the shower and laid out Lily's jumper and jeans on the bed, ready for her when she got out. Hestia skipped her usual Saturday morning shower, not wanting to leave Lily alone. Hestia dressed quickly, pulling on a simple pair of dark denim jeans, white vest top and throwing on a blue cardigan. She was buttoning up her ankle boots when Lily appeared again, her skin slightly red but fading, her wet hair held up in a towel. Drying her hair with a flick of her wand, Lily applied a small amount of foundation to her face, as per usual and dressed quickly. Alongside Hestia, she made her way down to breakfast, no-one knew of her fight with James, but they undoubtedly would soon…

**Author's note: Sorry to leave this on such a cliff hanger after so long of not updating – I'm just so evil! Muahahaha! No actually I'm not – I was going to carry on writing, b t I wanted to get this update online before I went to college today or I'd never get it done! So I had to leave it here! Hope you like it **** hopefully it won't be too long until I can update! And I again apologise for taking so long!**

**PS I'm going to the Harry Potter studio Tour on Halloween! So excited :D I'll have to fill you in on how great it is! And if you've been let me know what it was like! **


	33. Hurt

**Authors note: oooh get me updating so quickly! Well like I said on the last chapter, I had started most of this as it just followed on straight away from the last one – this was meant to be one long chapter, but I'd have never got it uploaded! So hope you like! **

Exiting the portrait hole quickly Lily and Hestia made their way down to the Great hall in almost silence, the only sound their feet hitting the flagstone floors. Considering it was early on a Saturday morning, the Great Hall was far from quiet; almost every table – except Gryffindor – was almost half full, unheard of for a Saturday morning. As they entered the crowded hall they made their way for the Gryffindor table but their route was blocked by Isaac Athold, a Ravenclaw in their year.

"Morning." He said brightly, his lips curling into an uncomfortable smile. His blonde hair gleaming in the morning light and his brown eyes sparkling, Hestia had to admit he was good looking, _'shame about his ugly personality'_ she thought, fixing him with a look of distain.

"What?" Hestia snapped, the last thing Lily needed now was being hit on by a pathetic excuse for a gentleman, of which Isaac definitely was.

"Just coming to see how you were." He replied defensively. "Lily looked down that's all." He added with a smile that made Hestia's skin crawl. Isaac was awful. He'd tried it on with pretty much every girl in the school, Lily however still thought he was wonderful – _'But he's a prefect!'_ she'd say, sometimes she was so naïve!

"I'm fine thank you Isaac, now I'd like some breakfast thank you." She pushed past a confused Isaac and settled down at the Gryffindor table, leaving her plate remarkably bare, despite her declaration of hunger to Isaac.

"Brushing off Isaac – good one. I was getting ready to tell him where to stick -"

"I don't care." Lily interrupted, taking a cold piece of brown toast and nibbling on the edge unenthusiastically. Hestia sighed – Lily's face told her everything she needed to know, she was miserable and there was nothing humour or Hestia mollycoddling her could do, she would remain miserable until a certain Potter arrived.

After a few minutes of awkward silence, Lily had had enough. Scraping back her bench as she stood, she walked slowly out of the hall, a few eyes from around the hall watched her leave but on the whole no-one noticed the Head Girl's foul mood. Waiting a few seconds, Hestia stood and followed her, the rest of the hall completely unaware of the turmoil between the Head Boy and Girl.

Lily wasn't sure how long she just walked around the corridors; she was sort of in a daze, just running through the events of last night again in her head. Vaguely aware of Hestia's quiet footsteps behind her she carried on walking, not even looking where she was going.

"Lily!" Hestia hissed, but it was too late…

Lily let out a small squeak as she collided with what felt like a brick wall; she looked up to see not solid wall, but the torso of Calix Mulciber.

"Well, well, well what do we have here, little mudblood all on her own without ickle Potter?" Mulciber taunted, pushing her away from his body with a sharp shove, she stumbled backwards, just managing to catch her balance. Lily was about to shout she wasn't alone, that she had Hestia, but a quick look behind her told her she was indeed unaccompanied – either Hestia had cast a very quick disillusionment charm or she'd run to get help, leaving Lily very, very alone.

"Out of the way Calix, you wouldn't hex the Head Girl." Lily seethed; every mention of the world mudblood making her blood boil with memories.

"Not a Head Girl – but a mudblood yes." Stellan Avery hissed from Mulciber's left shoulder. Piers Wilkes on the other side raised his wand threateningly.

"We've been waiting all year to get you alone Mudblood." Wilkes threatened. "Turning down the offer from the Dark Lord – you could have saved yourself – but no, and now I'm afraid, you're going to die." He added with a sadistic smirk that made Lily feel violently sick. Lily's heart was hammering so hard in her chest she thought it might break free and tear out into the daylight. Blood pounded in her ears and an involuntary shiver ran down her spine, causing the hairs on the back of her neck to stand erect pulling goose bumps on her porcelain skin. All three of the Slytherin students had their wands raised ready to strike, all wearing the exact same menacing grin. Without any further hesitation they all screamed hexes simultaneously. Reacting as quickly as she could Lily cast a protego charm to shield herself, but under the battering of heir hexes, it began to crumble and crack.

"Confringo!" Wilkes yelled. The spell narrowly missed Lily's head and hit the door to an empty classroom behind her, which promptly burst into the flames that burned brightly against the dim light of the windowless corridor.

"Impedimenta!" Mulciber muttered, casting a strong but unfocused jinx which Lily managed to dodge with relative ease.

"Flippendo!" Lily yelled, sending Wilkes spiralling backwards down the corridor. Landing on his backside, he blinked quickly but a split second after landing he was back on his feet, sending minor jinxes Lily's way to try and throw her off and destroy her already crumbling shield charm.

"Ventus!" Lily shrieked, attempting to push Wilkes back for a second time. Although this time he was more ready and was able to deflect it; Lily had to dodge or she'd have been hit by her own rebounding jinx.

"Crucio!" Wilkes bellowed, but it narrowly missed, whistling past Lily's ear.

"Petrificus Totalus!" Lily screamed, aiming at Wilkes, but hitting Avery, who fell to ground, his whole body frozen. Mulciber let out a low growl.

"You'll pay for that Mudblood! CRUCIO!" he aimed his wand and Lily felt time slow, she could see the curse heading straight for her but she remained frozen to the spot, unable to dodge, deflect or counter curse.

As the curse hit her square in the chest she fell to the floor in a heap, her bones felt like they were on fire, her insides being ripped out and her saliva felt like acid as she screamed, unable to contain the sheer torture ravaging her body. Her screams echoed around the walls as she pleaded for the pain to stop. Her mind became more crazed as she clawed at her own flesh as if trying to pull the curse from her body. Tears felt like knives emptying from her tear ducts and slicing the flesh down her face, seconds felt like hours as the pain coursed through her body, fire burned through her veins. Writhing in pain she curled into a foetal position, her skin felt like she'd been covered in acid, every movement causing her feel like her body was being ripped open from the inside out.

Suddenly, the pain ceased, breath tearing from her lungs in ragged and erratic gasps. Trembling, she waited for the curse to hit gain, curled in a ball she closed her eyes… but the curse never came. Her eyes fluttered slightly but her eyelids felt heavy and she longed to close them again. She heard voices but couldn't make out who they were, every sound felt like someone scraping her eardrum with a scalpel. Attempting to shut out the whole world she was vaguely aware of several other figures entering the fray, shouts and Professor Dumbledore's voice, someone calling her name desperately then the next thing she knew, everything was black.

Lily woke to pitch blackness, but not the kind of blackness she'd slipped into earlier, the blackness that came with the night, a comforting sort of blackness. She was vaguely aware of someone resting in the edge of her bed, but when she tried to turn to see who it was pain seared through her body, so she stayed as still as she was. The hospital wing was eerily silent; the only noise the soft snoring coming from the person asleep on the edge of her bed.

"She's awake." A quiet voice said, Lily noted it sounded full of relief. Closing her eyes she thought she must be dreaming, but when she opened them Sirius and Remus were stood there gazing at her nervously, the former stuffing James' silver invisibility cloak under his robes.

"How're you feeling?" Remus asked gently, he touched her hand and she winced, her throat letting out a small squeak in pain. Remus recoiled his hand as fast as lightening and looked on apologetically. Her skin felt like it was on fire, every touch felt like a knife cutting through her flesh, the crevice between her thumb and index finger where Remus had touched stung, the pain buzzed before finally beginning to fade. Lily opened her mouth to reply but her tongue felt odd in her mouth, heavy – as if made from lead. Her throat felt like sand paper but she managed to squeak a faint "Crap." To which Sirius chuckled slightly. The weight leaning on the edge of her bed began to lighten and from the corner of her eye she caught sight of another man stretching himself awake.

"Lily…" the man whispered, she recognised the voice as James instantly, she tried to turn to him but the pain seared through her body again she was forced to lie still.

"No, no, stay still." James commanded, he leant over her, his face now entering her line of vision. His forehead was creased with lines of frustration and worry and heavy purple bags hung under his puffy red eyes, he looked a state, although she doubted she looked much better. He leant in to kiss her lips softly, but Remus interrupted.

"Don't touch her!" he whispered quickly with teacher like authority.

"Why not?" James growled in response, whipping his head round to face his friend who dared question his actions.

"It hurts…" Lily managed to croak. James turned face to face his, his eyes gentle again, he longed to touch her and hold her tight; tell her he was sorry for arguing, sorry for not being there to protect her, sorry for everything… but he couldn't find the words.

"Lily… I'm so sorry…" he managed to whisper, so quiet Lily strained her ears to hear him.

"No… Need..." She croaked. The effort it took to reply was leaving her exhausted. James brought his finger to her lips, careful not to touch her skin for fear of hurting her. As their eyes locked, everything was forgotten, the pain she'd felt at his scathing comments, his annoyance at her stubbornness, everything was forgotten. He longed to kiss her, but he daren't, hurting her was the thing that brought him the most pain, and seeing her wince made him feel like it had been him who'd been subjected to the curse. He wished he could switch their places; he'd give anything to take away the pain she was feeling. James felt tears prick his eyes, this should never have happened, he'd been protecting her all year, making sure she'd never be alone, he knew something like this would happen! And the only time he'd left her alone, she'd been tortured… the guilt he felt was unbearable. He couldn't meet her eyes.

"Look... at me…" she croaked, James met her eyes and a tear slipped down his face, she smiled faintly. "Not…your…fault…" James shook his head.

"I should have been there, I'm so sorry Lily." More tears fell and before he could stop them they were slipping rapidly down his cheeks. He couldn't help himself, he took her hand, her skin burned with heat but this time she didn't wince, the pain was fading he was relieved to see. Shaking her head slightly, pain spread through Lily's neck, but she had to say something.

"No." she replied simply, none of this was James' fault, none of it and she wouldn't have him believe it was! "Hestia?" she asked. James furiously wiped away the tears spreading down his cheeks, still leant over her he smiled ever so slightly.

"She came to get us." James explained "Dumbledore too… She's over there," James paused, pointing to the only other occupied bed that Sirius and Remus were sat around, just watching Hestia's silent form sleep. "She was pretty shaken up, Madame Pomfrey age her a dreamless sleep draught… she was in hysterics Lily, she was in a worse state than you." He joked; Lily found the corner of her mouth tugging slightly, although a fully-fledged smile wouldn't form on her lips. "Alice and Jess were in pieces too." James added. "Jess was all for going and _'punching their lights out'_ as she put it." A small chuckle escaped from Sirius across the room. "McGonagall took the Slytherins to Dumbledore's office though, nobodies seen the three of them since." James put seriously, Lily though he looked much more handsome when he smiled, his whole face brightened, although she guessed this wasn't the time for smiles.

"They'd better be bloody expelled." Remus put in. Sirius stared at his friend open mouthed, it wasn't like Remus to have a bad word to say about anyone, let alone curse. "Don't look at me like that Sirius!" Remus snapped, folding his arms in front of his chest. "They used an _unforgiveable_ curse! If they weren't at school, they'd be in Azkahban for that!" he declared, throwing his arms wide.

"It happens." Sirius explained darkly, he seemed to be speaking from personal experience. "It's more common now – with You-Know-Who gathering followers, it's becoming common place, you've seen the prophet." He sighed; Remus had no choice but to nod. James had pleaded with Lily to stop getting the paper delivered, she'd spent hours stressing about the newest piece of legislation discriminating against muggle borns – forcing them to register, articles about muggle borns being murdered in their homes, shop keepers fearing to take on a muggle born worker for fear of Death eater attacks, corruption at the ministry of magic… it was weighing her down, although it was clear the boys were still reading it and things had escalated since Lily had last had her hands on a copy of the wizard paper.

Remus didn't reply, it was clear Sirius' comment didn't need a reply. A light flicked on in Madame Pomfrey's office; Sirius pulled out the invisibility cloak with a flick of his wrist and the three boys sprinted to fit underneath it. As the matron appeared from her office, still in nightgown and cap she yawned, just as the cloak fell over James' large frame. Madame Pomfrey shuffled over to Lily's bed, still looking half asleep, motioned for her to drink a vial of foul smelling liquid she held out, which Lily did without complaint. The matron then shuffled back off to her bed, her feel slapping the tiled floors as she walked. As soon as the coast was clear, the boys whipped off the cloak, but Lily was already fast asleep again, a dreamless sleep which would last until morning.

**Authors note: Thank you for reading! Now you see that little button down there, the one that says review? Well put a little comment in that box and click the review button ;) thank you! And I'm serious, get reviewing! Hahaa reviews might make me update faster though! **


	34. Outburst

Authors note: Okay… so Jessica uses a naughty swear word in this chapter, she needs her mouth washing out with soap! I'm sorry if it offends anyone, but in this situation it seemed the right word to use…

Chapter 34:

"How is she?!" Jessica shouted pouncing on Sirius the moment he shuffled through the portrait hole. Grabbing hold him by the shoulders, she shook him slightly as if trying to shake the answers from him. Blinking wildly Sirius took a few seconds to realise what was going on, in this time Jessica had given up, thrown her hands wildly in the air and slumped into an unoccupied arm chair and began to sulk.

"She's just worried." Alice explained, although she looked impatiently at Sirius for news.

"She's awake." He put bluntly.

"And?!" Jessica shouted, standing abruptly, rolling her hands, gesturing for more information.

"She's talking… Oh and her and James made up!" Sirius replied with a triumphant smile on his face. Alice hugged Jessica and smiles of relief spread across their faces.

"Told you." Jessica teased, although her voice was soothing as she rubbed Alice's back.

"We thought when we didn't hear anything that it was really bad…" Alice said tearfully, her cheeks reddening. Alice sniffed loudly and wiped her nose on a handkerchief that Jessica handed her, she took it thankfully.

"It was bad…" Sirius trailed off. "She'll be okay though." He finished. "Hestia too." He added with a smile.

"Poor thing…" Alice whispered. "She was in a right state yesterday. I couldn't even understand what she was saying she was crying so much…"

"It was awful…" Jessica agreed, again pulling Alice close and hugging her tightly. Sirius was about to reply, but was interrupted by Peter and Frank who glumly walked down the dormitory stairs and met them by the portrait hole. Sirius smiled somewhat reassuringly. Frank nodded, Peter's watery blue eyes looked like they'd burst into tears at any time… '_Poor Bloke…_' Sirius thought, he'd been so upset and shocked last night that Remus had had to give him a sleeping potion, they hadn't dared wake him when they went to go and see the girls in the hospital wing, he'd never have got any sleep if they had; as it came to it the other three hadn't had much sleep as it was. James had spent all night sat in the chair by Lily's bed, waking every 15 minutes or so to check she was okay, Sirius and Remus had been unable to sleep for more than half an hour at a time as Madame Pomfrey kept coming in and they'd have to scramble to get the invisibility cloak over James and themselves before they were thrown from the hospital wing and given a right talking to by the angry matron; luckily they hadn't been caught, although their lack of sleep was clearly affecting them this morning…

James had slumped down to Great hall at 6AM grabbed a few slices of toast that he'd eaten on the way back to the hospital wing, his journey uninterrupted by anyone. Sirius, Frank, Peter and the girls hadn't been so lucky… it seemed last night at the evening meal Professor Dumbledore had mentioned what had happened and everyone was trying to get any other details about the attack from Lily's friends.

"_What happened?!"_

"_Is it true that she fought off ten death eaters without her wand?!"_

"_Is she going to be alright?!"_

Sirius was ready to hex the next person who asked him anything. Jessica rubbed her forehead in exhaustion; Alice and her had ended up sleeping huddled together in her bed and between the tears and snores neither of them had gotten much sleep and now the endless questioning was beginning to grate on Jessica's fragile nerves.

"_Is it true she nearly died?!"_ a third year Hufflepuff boy asked and Jessica snapped.

"WILL YOU JUST LEAVE US ALONE! MY FRIEND IS IN THE HOSPITAL WING AFTER BEING TORTURED, I'VE HAD NO SLEEP AND I'M NOT ALLOWED TO SEE HER SO WILL YOU JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" breathing heavily, her hands curled into tight fists. The small boy looked like he was about to burst in to tears, he trembled slightly and scuttled away to avoid the wrath of the seventh year Gryffindor. Jessica knew she'd blown her top, her cheeks coloured slightly, but she stood by what she said, shouted. The whole of the Great hall was silent; everyone was staring at the usually bubbly blonde girl who had just screamed at an innocent bystander, even Sirius and Remus looked taken aback, especially Remus. Realising she was still standing, she slumped into her seat on the bench and held her head in her hands, people began to go back to their breakfast still trying to cast quick glances at Jessica. Alice put her arm around Jessica's shoulders; Sirius rubbed her hand gently from across the table.

"Well done, didn't know you had it in you…" Sirius whispered. Frank looked anywhere except for Jessica's face, his cheeks scarlet, embarrassed to even be there. Jessica was just going to suggest they leave when the last person they wanted to see entered the hall. Calix Mulciber, flanked by Piers Wilkes and Stellan Avery, smiling like the cat that'd got the cream. Sirius stood abruptly, hands curled in to tight fists. Sauntering down the Gryffindor table Calix received icy glares from the handful of them who were awake. The hall fell silent once again; everyone was intently watching what was about to take place…

"What are you still doing here Mulciber? Shouldn't they have thrown you in Azkahban?" Sirius spat, fixing him with the worst glare he could muster.

"Oh _Black_," Calix regarded Sirius, "in some circles what I did would be regarded as brave." His voice low, so only the few around him could hear. Remus clung hard onto the table to stop himself jumping up and punching the stupid git. Alice squeezed Frank's hand hard, she hated confrontation, Jessica regarded the boys with a look of pure loathing, how dare they get away with torturing an innocent bystander?!

"Bastard." Jessica spat, jumping to her feet. "You know that? You're complete bastards the lot of you!"

"Oh dear, now is the more little orphan getting in on the action?" Avery cooed. Jessica inhaled deeply through her nose, her nostrils flaring, holding every part of her self control to stop her lashing out and thrashing the three of them.

"Well, when you have a father like mine, you can get away with _murder_." Calix fixed Sirius with an intent stare, amusement flickered in his dull brown eyes, he was enjoying taunting Sirius. "But then again, you wouldn't know anything about Family would you _Black_." He whispered emphasising Sirius' last name. Sirius lunged; fist raised but was held back by Remus who had leapt to his feet and Jessica who looked positively murderous. Alice looked up to the teacher's table to question why the teachers weren't putting a stop to Calix's taunting and was disheartened to see, only Professor Slughorn was there, head hung low snoring soundly. Great help he was!

"10 points from Slytherin for taunting another student." Another voice interrupted. The whole hall, who had been watching the exchange with bated breath, turned to see who the voice had come from. James Potter stood behind the three Slytherin students, looking remarkably calm considering the situation he had found.

"What are _you_ going to do Potter?" Piers Wilkes almost laughed "You're a nobody. And shouldn't you be getting back to your pathetic girlfriend." His lip curling with amusement.

"I may be a nobody outside of these walls, but in here I am head boy and my _'Pathetic Girlfriend'_ is Head Girl so please leave before I call Professor McGonagall." James replied, his voice abnormally monotone. Mulciber looked up and down the Gryffindor table, each and every student had their wand raised, suddenly realising he was very very outnumbered, a flicker of irritation flicked over his face. Looking into the eyes of James Potter, the Head Boy smirked, he knew he'd won.

With a grunt and a furious glare the three Slytherin students pushed past James and stormed out the hall without another word. A small cheer rang out through the hall, but it was quickly silenced by James who raised his hand. Remus and Jess who were still stood, nodded and sat back down, Jessica's arm loosely slung around Peter's shoulders; the poor boy looked like he might be sick. Sirius and James just stared at each other, a mutual understanding passing between them.

"I hate it when they do that." Jessica muttered, unable to read the expression on her friends faces.

"Me too." Remus agreed, pushing away his untouched plate of breakfast, he couldn't stomach it.

"How is she?" Alice asked, looking carefully at James, the group turned round to face him. He laughed slightly.

"Better – she's requested her transfiguration book so she can study while she's still in the hospital wing."

"Merlin, the girl got tortured and all she can think about is school work!" Sirius laughed, but he was glad Lily was feeling better, he didn't think James would be able to cope without her, he doubted he would either… Lily and he hadn't had the best relationship, for five years Lily had regarded him with pure loathing, which he had gladly returned – mainly because James was head over heels for her and he felt Lily was taking away the only family he'd ever really had. Then in sixth year something changed, James' head began to deflate and Lily and James could now speak civilly to each other and without screaming, plus all the Gryffindor students in their year had grown close, and that even meant Sirius and Lily. One night in the common room after being disowned Sirius had found himself unable to sleep, Lily after receiving a particular scathing letter from her sister didn't feel like sleeping either; they sat all night and talked… the raw emotions and bottles of fire whiskey Sirius had managed to get hold of inevitably lead to hazy memories of the night, Sirius doubted Lily could even remember any of it, but still – she was the first one he had opened up to about his true feelings towards his family, whether or not she remembered it. You don't make a connection like that with someone and then forget all about it, Sirius had seen Lily in a different light ever since. Lily was his friend and despite not knowing it, the keeper of the secrets of Sirius' true feelings.

The bell sounded and the students grumbled, pulling their satchels over their shoulders and trooped off to lesson. James sat there, staring at his plate, obviously deep in thought. Sirius watched him from the seat beside him, making no attempt to rise from his seat. Jessica shot them an almost confused look - they'd had a pretty rubbish couple of days but she doubted Professor Flitwick would be happy if they turned up late to charms. Clearing her throat she tried to catch their attention, Sirius looked up and just stared absently at her before turning back to watch James. Knowing a lost cause when she saw one, Jessica gave up and followed Peter and Alice to Charms.

**Authors note: right, it has taken me ages to post this and for that I apologise, I also apologise for it being, well frankly rubbish… I've had so much college work to do recently that I've had absolutely no time to write but I feel so bad that I managed to take a while off to write this (which explains why it's a bit pants). It is also quite an odd place to finish my chapter, but if I didn't finish it there and post it, I never would have got it done! So I hope you don't hate it too much and fingers crossed I'll get some more time to write soon!**


	35. Matching

**Authors note: I'd just like to say, a massive thank you to anyone who reviewed on the last chapter! You all genuinely cheered me up after my horrible couple of weeks and just another thank you – it managed to get me smiling again and suddenly everything seems a lot better **** I've just about got on top of my college work and I've had offers from three of my University choices so things are much better **** thank you all for being so lovely and supportive! *VIRTUAL HUG* right, well here we go – I had fun writing this chapter so I hope you like it **

"I can't believe he's still here…" James whispered. "He deserves to be thrown in Azkahban, but he's still here because daddy has influence over the governors." He added. Sirius nodded.

"It's ludicrous." Sirius agreed, the thought that Mulciber and his cronies were allowed to stay in the school just because their families were influential made him sick.

Silence fell upon the two of them, and for a minute or two they just sat there in comfortable silence. Tapping his finger absently against the polished wood of the table Sirius noticed the Great hall was virtually empty, the students had all trudged off towards lessons, only a few were straggling behind attempting to skip lessons.

"I should have been there." James mumbled, holding his head in his hands, covering his eyes – Sirius was worried James might be crying underneath his hands. "I should have been there…" James repeated under his hands, almost forgetting Sirius was even there.

"Look mate…" Sirius started but he was lost for words. He squeezed James' shoulder reassuringly, wracking his brain for the right words. "You can't always be there…" he finally finished.

"The thing is I should have been!" James snapped back, banging his fist hard down on the table. The plate nearest James' fist jumped in the air and landed with a bang. "I should have been there! I've been protecting her all year and the one day I'm that I'm too pissed off to do anything she gets hurt! How do you think that makes me feel Sirius?!" raising his voice James knew he was going over the top but he didn't care. The few students straggling behind turned to see where the noise was coming from and were alarmed to see Sirius and James in what looked like a confrontation.

"James…" was all Sirius could manage, the boy looked broken. "She's okay…" Sirius breathed, hoping to get through to James.

"But what about next time she isn't? What about if next time Hestia isn't there to run for help? What about if next time I'm not there again? What about if next time they _don't_ stop?" his voice cracked at the last word. Sirius didn't know what to say, James stared down at the table, on the brink of tears.

"I won't let that happen." Sirius declared. James looked up gratefully and managed a smile. "Lily is one of us – there is no way anything is going to happen to her." He added. James wiped his nose which was running slightly and removed his glasses to rub his eyes.

"I'd die for her you know." James said, without looking up from cleaning his glasses on the edge of his black robes. Sirius could tell when James was lying, and he was 100% certain James was telling the truth; Sirius was certain that James would die for Lily should the circumstance arise. Sirius was silent contemplating what James had just said…

"I know James, I know." He finally replied, patting James' back lightly. And with only a seconds hesitation they both rose from their seats and made their way to Charms, without another word.

James and Sirius slipped into the back of Charms relatively unnoticed, Professor Flitwick nodded in the direction towards their seats but did not say anything as he carried on with his opening speech.

"Now I don't expect any of you to be able to perform this charm for some while – or even ever, however I would like you to have a go and know the theory behind it for your exam." The small professor's beard wobbled as he spoke and his slim face broke out into a grin, illuminating his whole face. Turning to face the black board, he levitated the piece of chalk and wrote 'Patronus Charm' with a flourish and flick of his wand. "Now can anyone tell me about the Patronus charm?" he asked, turning back to the class. Someone at the front of the class raised their hand and drew the professor's attention– James couldn't see who it was; the rest of the class' heads blocked his view.

"The Patronus charm is a positive force that can repel dementors, formed from a happy memory." The voice said. Sirius didn't raise his head and carried on doodling on the corner of his parchment, James however knew the voice instantly.

"Correct Miss Evans! Five points to Gryffindor! Now pair up and we'll have a go at the incantation!" the Professor chimed, and with a flick of his wand the desks slid to the edge of the room and as people stood, so did the chairs, leaving room for practical work. Scrambling from his desk at lightning speed, James grabbed Sirius by his sleeve and dragged him towards the front of the classroom where Lily and Hestia were slowly making their way to the side of the classroom.

"What are you doing out the hospital wing?!" James hissed as he stood at Lily's side. She smiled at his concern and then turned back to Hestia, who shook her head.

"I tried to talk her into staying there, but she was having none of it." Hestia interrupted.

"I was _bored_!" Lily moaned loudly, leaning her head onto James' shoulder. James couldn't help but grin, at least she was feeling a little better.

"You feel okay?" James asked, a moment later.

"I'm fine." Lily replied "just peachy." She added with a grin. James could see she was still in some pain; her eyes couldn't lie, but decided not to reply, he was just glad she wasn't a quivering wreck on the floor. Standing next to her, he slipped his hand into hers, her skin still burned hot, although she wasn't burning up as much as yesterday. Her small fingers gripped his, her thumb absently rubbing circles on his skin.

The class had grouped into pairs around the room, James was paired with Sirius, Remus with Peter, Lily with Hestia, Alice with Jessica and Frank with a Ravenclaw student Benjy Fenwick, who smiled and joined their group. Stereotypically good looking Benjy had an air of natural confidence, flicking his swishy honey coloured his chocolate brown eyes gleamed. Sirius high fived him and James clapped him on the shoulder with his free hand. Benjy was the kind of guy that was easy to get along with, a friend of the marauders.

"Alright Fenwick?" James asked "How's Vance?" Benjy grinned at the mention of his girlfriend.

"great - she's coming to the next Hogsmeade trip so we can meet up, seems like ages since I last saw her!" he replied with a flick of his hair. Benjy and Emmeline Vance had started dating towards the end of Emmeline's seventh year and Benjy's sixth, it had been a Romance no-one expected to last, with them being polar opposites, however nearly a year on they were still going strong. Lily had always struggled to see Benjy and Emmeline as a couple; they seemed just a little _too_ different… Emmeline had been the Head Girl before Lily, a pretty Hufflepuff girl, quiet, shy, whereas Benjy was a Ravenclaw, outgoing, outspoken, loud. Lily didn't feel she was the one to comment on their relationship though; she was going out with a guy with whom she'd spent the first five and a half years of school insisting she hated and wretching at the mention of his name. _How times change_, she mused squeezing James' hand lightly.

"Students!" the small Professor shouted above the noise of the seventh years who quickly fell quiet at the sound of his voice. "The incantation is Expecto Patronum, however this is not enough on its own– you must think of something happy, allow it to fill you up! Now let's have a go – I'll be around to help."

"I'll go first." Sirius grinned knowingly. "Expecto Patronum!" he almost shouted - captivating the attention of the whole class. As the last letter left his lips a silver spray left his wand, forming the shape of a bouncy dog that ran around the classroom, jumping up at the other students who giggled and looked on in amazement. The dog ran around knocking the tiny Professor off his pile of books from which he looked out over the class; the dog disappeared as Sirius broke his concentration to rush over to check the teacher was okay, but instead of screaming at him, the teacher laughed. Lying on his back on the floor surrounded by a pile of fallen books the Professor giggled, as Sirius helped the small man to his feet, he continued to chuckle.

"I can't believe it! Sirius Black – you fantastic boy!" Professor Flitwick cried, grabbing hold of Sirius' face with both hands and clapping his cheeks. That was the first time Sirius had ever been called fantastic in his life, the feeling was thoroughly uplifting. Sirius turned and flashed a grin at Hestia who shook her head with a small giggle – she knew Edward and Sarah Potter had taught Sirius and James the Patronus charm in the summer, with all the threats that faced them at that time they thought it was best to have the boys as thoroughly prepared as possible.

Not to be outdone, James flicked his wand and uttered the incantation. The class turned and watched as James raised his wand, a shimmering spectacle of a magnificent silvery shining stag shot from his wand and cantered around the room before dissolving into a fog of silver mist. The class collectively 'oooo'ed. James and Sirius high fived each other – both wearing matching smug grins.

"I don't believe it! Two full patronuses! Fifty points to Gryffindor!" Professor Flitwick beamed – he couldn't believe his luck, two students had managed a full Patronus on their first go! He had his suspicions though that the Potter's had probably taught them before they started school – however Professor Flitwick didn't care, they conjured them in _his_ classroom! Clapping his hands together he turned to the rest of the class.

"Now you've seen what a Patronus should look like – let's all have a go!"

Half an hour later no-one else had managed a full Patronus – Lily and Hestia had managed small silvery whisps which Professor Flitwick had told them were the beginnings of a fully-fledged Patronus and they had done excellent work – many wizards wouldn't even get to that point in their entire lives, however Lily was still frustrated with herself; Charms was her best subject and for once James had one over on her. Hestia on the other hand was delighted – she'd only kept her silvery whisp for three seconds as she'd been so excited she squealed with delight and lost her concentration, throwing her arms round Sirius' neck squealing _'I did it! I did it!'_ Alice and Jessica were still trying but to no avail, Peter had given up and was sitting glumly on the floor with his chin resting his hands – Remus had managed a better whisp than Lily – which didn't irritate her as much as she thought it would – Frank and Benjy hadn't even tried and were animatedly talking about the latest quidditch stats with Sirius.

"You want some help Lil?" James asked, coming up behind Lily as she once again summoned a silvery whisp to sprout from her wand but no more.

"No… Yes." Lily sighed, she couldn't stand this anymore - she was never going to conjure a Patronus, if she was ever attacked by dementors, she'd just have to hope James was there to protect her.

"Come here." James said as he pulled Lily close – his body behind hers, one hand resting gently on her hip, the other around her hand as it gripped her wand. "Now think of something happy – not just happy, ecstatic." Lily nodded, she focused on her chosen memory and with help from James she flourished her wand, said the incantation and nothing happened – not even a wisp this time.

"This isn't going to work James – I can't do it." she moaned, and attempted to pull away from him but he pulled her back.

"What's your happy memory?" James asked his voice low so only they could here. Lily blushed slightly.

"Getting my OWL scores…" she replied, quite embarrassed.

"That's not good enough." James replied bluntly.

"I got all O's thank you very much!" Lily replied sharply, she'd been very proud of those!

"No – the memory, it's not strong enough. You need something to fill you up, fill your body with happiness – that's how you conjure a Patronus." Now facing him – she nodded. She looked as if in deep thought for a second.

"What's your memory?" Lily asked, a slight smirk forming on her lips. James, on the other hand didn't seem embarrassed.

"It _was_ the first time you smiled at me – but then it changed. Our first kiss in the hospital wing – that's my memory." He replied, a genuine smile forming on his lips. Lily didn't know what to say, she was taken aback, the memory James used to conjure a Patronus involved her?! Before she could even think of a reply, James had pulled her close again and taken her hand in his.

"Now think of that memory and we'll see where we get." He whispered into her ear, his voice tickling her ear, causing her to relax into his, her body pressed up against hers gave her a positive buzz, she _could_ do this. Lily raised her wand.

Severus Snape watched Lily and James with distain from across the room. A few people had managed the faintest glimmer of silver, but no-one bar Sirius and James had managed a full Patronus, he however knew he could produce a Patronus Charm; he'd done it on several occasions. He, unlike the marauders, wasn't fond of showing off – he didn't need to flaunt his Patronus in front of an air headed Charms class to make himself feel good about himself. Well that's what he told himself. He knew deep down it was because he was embarrassed… a doe: that was his Patronus, a female representation of a deer… he didn't really care about what his Patronus was, but he couldn't stand it if word got back to Mulciber or Avery about how 'girly' his Patronus was, he'd never hear the end of it (it was times like this when being the only Slytherin in the class was a good thing). When a stag had shot from the end of James' wand, Severus had felt slightly sick – he knew his Patronus a stag was the male representation of his own… he was watching Lily with bated breath waiting for her to produce a Patronus to see if the sinking feeling in his stomach was right.

James spoke to her, she looked gobsmacked. He pulled her close and whispered to her. A smile and new look of determination crossed her face. The whole class turned to her, as if expecting something. As she spoke the incantation a silvery doe shot from the end of her wand and cantered around the room before dissolving in a silvery mist. Lily had lost her concentration. When Severus managed to tear his eyes from the spot where the doe had first appeared, he turned back to Lily. James had crashed his lips onto hers, his hands clutching her face desperately; she was kissing him for all she was worth, a desperate kiss full of passion. James pulled away, Severus couldn't hear what he said but as he read the Gryffindor's lips he was sure he said 'I knew it.' with a smirk, and then she kissed him again.

Professor Flitwick didn't even bother to break them apart – it was refreshing to see a pair of matching patronuses in two students so young. It was no coincidence that their patonuses matched – they were soul mates, that was obvious. The rest of the class had seemingly lost interest in the Patronus charm, as well as Lily and James who were still holding each other, James whispering into her ear and she giggled, his hand stroking her long hair. Professor Flitwick was just about to call for the class to clear up when a something silver caught his eye, a silver wolf was stalking the edge of the room, silver whisps trailing back to the wand of Remus Lupin, who looked gobsmacked and embarrassed at the same time. He blushed scarlet and the wolf disappeared sharply. Most of the class hadn't even realised Remus had conjured a Patronus but the Charms master managed a small smile - the school's only ever werewolf's Patronus is a wolf – oh the irony! James and Sirius clapped Remus on the back, Lily hugged him, the embarrassment left his face and was replaced by a huge smile.

"Well done Mr Lupin! Well done! 50 points to you and Miss Evans! Well class, I am so very impressed with everyone! You can pack up now - but I want a scroll a foot long on the theory behind the charm. Now class dismissed." He jumped off his pile of books and flicked his wand, the desks and chair slowly returned to their original positions. Remus was the first one to leave the room – the rest of their group followed, grabbing their bags as they left. The rest of the class filtered out of the room, leaving Severus sat on his own in the corner of the room. The Professor obviously hadn't noticed him as he gathered up a pie of marking and exited the room, shutting the door softly behind him. All Severus could do was stare in disbelief at the ceiling, his Patronus was the same as Lily's… they matched… and in that moment, he knew he would never love another girl as much as he loved Lily Evans…


	36. Difference

**Authors note: just to clear something up - someone (very rudely) pointed out in their review that they felt Alice's last name should be Fortescue not Prewitt. I did some **_**serious**_** digging before writing this to try and find out Alice's maiden name, I couldn't find one so I took the name from my favourite fan fiction – it is not in any way connected to Fabian/Gideon/Molly Prewett, I just thought the name suited her, hope that has cleared that matter up. And once again I apologise profusely for the lack of updates - I've had a huge coursework piece and two massive exams and unfortunately they come first, but they are over with and no exams until the summer (YAY!) which means I will (hopefully) have a little more spare time to write, so on we go! Hope you like it xxx**

Chapter 36:

Severus Snape had been unusually withdrawn over the past week since _the_ Charms class – not that he was ever outgoing, but more withdrawn than usual. Calix Mulciber had failed to notice any change in his associate's behaviour, Stellan Avery had noticed that Severus wasn't hovering around as much as usual, but gave it no more thought, and Piers Wilkes was too busy drowning in school work to realise anything was wrong with his fellow Slytherin. Nobody had really noticed the sudden withdrawal of Severus Snape - which was the way he liked it.

The Slytherin common room was a dark and cold place at the best of times, even in the fledging months of spring, an eerie chill hung in the air. Hauled up in an armchair in the far most nether regions of the common room was none other than Severus Snape. If anyone, not that anyone often did (the Slytherin students are not renowned for their companionship), enquired about what he was doing in a solitary arm chair in the corner, his eyes transfixed on the wall, Severus would sarcastically retort _'I am watching for evidence of the paint cracking'_ or some other comment which he deemed rather witty, but in reality was an obvious lie to avoid the real reason he was sulking. Severus Snape was brooding. Brooding over James Potter. It was not something which Snape would ever admit, but James potter had been on his mind all week. His charming personality, witty sense of humour, quidditch skills, he even found himself in deep thought about his smile, all to try and work out what Lily saw in him. After almost a week of minimal movement and thought so deep his brain was beginning to ache, Severus could not come up with an answer. The only thing he was certain of, was that Lily loved James and there was nothing he could do to persuade her otherwise.

The only Slytherin student who had really noticed Severus' dark mood and sudden withdrawal was Regulus Black, the pair were not close by any means but had been thrown together by Lucius Malfoy and seemed to have formed a mutual agreement that vaguely resembles friendship. The sixth year sat in another lone armchair, a few feet away from Snape and if he knew Regulus was there ignored him or did a very good job of pretending he wasn't. However Regulus could not do the same, he began pondering why Severus could have pulled himself out of normal life, but his thought train eventually arrived at the part of his life he wanted to think about least.

Regulus, with limbs that resembled spiders, was incredibly gawky and awkward. His limbs seemed too long for his rather small body; this made him inevitably clumsy; the other sixth year students could scarcely believe he actually belonged to the Black family. The Black family was renound, not just for having 'The Purest Blood' Toujours_ Pur_ and elevated status to that of almost royalty, they were also renound for their beauty. However, there was no denying Regulus was a Black. He had inherited the characteristic grey eyes, the colour of storm clouds before a rain, this distinct colour seemed to be specific to the Black family, it created an air of mystery, you never quite knew what they were thinking – their eyes gave nothing away. They created intrigue, drawing you close to stare deep into those stormy eyes, it was something that set the Black family apart, however on Regulus the grey eyes of the Black family seemed out of place, on Regulus' long face the eyes seemed to get lost in the vast space between his forehead and his nose. Instead of his eyes being the main focus of his face, it was unfortunately his rather long nose – another feature of the Black family, however without the distinct stormy irises to distract the eye, it was more a prominent feature. Regulus also had inherited the natural deepest Black locks, on Sirius Black these fell is perfect waves around his face that lay with no effort at all, on cousin Andromeda (whose hair was however chocolate brown) and on Aunt Druella these fell in huge bouncy curls that gracefully cascaded over their shoulders in a waterfall of hair, on cousin Bellatrix and his mother Walburga, their Black hair formed tight ringlets that although seemed untameable, a torrent of organised chaos, but were still beautiful to look at. Regulus had the colour down to a tee; there was no denying that, however on Regulus his hair did not fall in elegant waves, it fell flat, something that was a constant irritation and sense of disappointment to his beautiful mother. The Black family were all aristocratically beautiful, and paraded with the elegance of a swan gliding across water, none of this came naturally to Regulus, he was gawky and fell over frequently. Regulus was now approaching 17 years of age and his mother was already securing possible marriage matches for him, however Regulus wondered why anyone would want to marry him, the only thing that he had to offer was his name, and in the current world that was counting less and less as muggle born witches and wizards came through the ranks of Hogwarts and took the tops of their year.

Despite not quite fitting with the stereotypical Black appearance, on the outside Regulus appeared to conform with their views of blood purity, at every Black family reunion Uncle Cygnus would remark on the 'filthiness' of muggle blood, Regulus would nod appreciatively and appear to be in deep thought as if considering this idea, however on the inside Regulus felt nothing, he had no qualm with blood status, if you were a good witch or wizard then that was it. Regulus Black was living, breathing proof that blood status meant truly nothing, as a member of the most prestigious and ancient houses he should have been at the top of every class, along with every single one of his ancestors, however Regulus remained average, scarping acceptable and every now and again an exceeds expectations.

However, Regulus on the whole was happy, he lived for quidditch - playing seeker for the Slytherin team and with a small group of friends he was happy, even if he had been bullied into joining the Death eaters by his close aide Barty Crouch and Severus who had coaxed him in, persuading it would please his other and bring honour to his family, something though which he would never admit, Regulus was very keen to do, to make up for all his disappointments. Although he hadn't yet been marked, his mother was immensely proud, and even his cousin Bellatrix, who had not paid him more than a minutes attention in the last few years, gave him a knowing smile.

That was what Regulus thought of when he was sat watching Severus. His disappointment as a member of the Black family, his impending marriage ball which his mother would be planning at that very moment and for some strange reason what his brother Sirius would think of him joining the Death eaters. He had only spoken to Sirius once since he had left home; Regulus had told Sirius how selfish he was being, he had shouted at him, called him a disgrace, now the memory made him wince. He didn't know what made him say that, he didn't believe it to be true, maybe it was just the influence of his family corrupting his brain… Once upon a time, Regulus and Sirius had been as close as could be; now they passed each other in the hallways without a single glance. Regulus knew Sirius would disapprove of his actions, he'd never understood, always questioning why things had to be done, there was no reason apart from family; something which in his mind Sirius didn't understand, sometimes you just had to do things, for the sake of family. He knew what Sirius would say if he knew about his extracurricular activities, and at the thought, Regulus let out a long sigh and sunk further into his chair.

"Padfoot! We are going to be late! Please stop making Goo Goo eyes at those Ravenclaw's before Professor Hubert skins us alive!" James hissed at Sirius as he grabbed his best friend by the scruff of the neck and dragged him towards the Divination room, located in Professor Hubert's office in the top of the North Tower. Sirius had been too busy flirting with two attractive Ravenclaw girls to notice James tapping his watch in exasperation at Sirius' apparent lack of time keeping.

"Prongs slow down!" Sirius panted, struggling to keep up with James' long stride. "Professor Hubert won't notice if we're late!"

"Are you joking me?! He WILL notice and we'll be in detention – something which I should avoid because, you know, I'm kind of HEAD BOY!" James shouted after him as he ran up the staircase, avoiding the trick step.

"Alright, alright, calm your farm! We're virtually there!" Sirius breathed as James flew off the top step and stormed down the corridor, and up the rickety ladder towards the Divination classroom, hoping Professor Hubert wouldn't notice their late arrival. "Man, he's uptight since he got that flippin' badge." Sirius said under his breath, James did not notice. As James' head appeared at the top of the ladder, Peter threw him a sympathetic glance from his seat near the window, James was Peter's usual divination partner (James didn't trust Sirius to be serious throughout the rather woolly discipline of divination, and Peter seemed to have a special profanity for Divination which helped bring out the best in James) however James' usual seat was occupied by Reginald Cattermole, a Hufflepuff student who evidently didn't know he was sitting in someone's seat as he swirled his tea cup around and muttered something to Peter, whose attention was taken from James back to Reginald and his tea cup. James shook his head slightly and settled at the closest available table, Sirius settled next to him, Sirius' usual partner, Benjy Fenwick, appeared to be absent. Professor Hubert seemed was nowhere to be seen, James sighed a sigh of relief, however this relief was short lived, as soon as James had let his shoulders sag, Professor Hubert appeared besides their table with a face like thunder.

"You are late!" he roared. James attempted to look apologetic; Sirius however was as far from apologetic as you could be.

"We were only five minutes late though, so it wasn't too bad." Sirius tried to reason, however the elderly Professor did not seem impressed.

"Detention Black! Now get on with the work set." The Professor snapped as he turned stormed away as the sound of smashing teacups caught his attention.

"What's up with him?" Sirius questioned as Professor Hubert waddled over to the other side of the room. James gave the Professor a quick once over, the Professor was an elderly man – 80's or 90's _at_ _least_ and was severely overweight, James wasn't sure if he had an extra eye to look into the world of Divination, but he certainly did have a couple of extra chins.

"I don't know Sirius, maybe the fact we were late because you wanted to flirt with a few Ravenclaw girls." James replied deadpan.

"Hey! You know that Samia Rain is hot!" Sirius defended, holding up his hands in mock surrender "her friend wasn't too bad either." He mused.

"That may be the case, but you have a girlfriend Sirius." James replied, taking his tea cup and draining it out the cold tea into a bucket under their table, he didn't feel like drinking it, and swirling the leaves around the bottom of his cup until they arranged them into a sort of pattern, Sirius did the same.

"For how much longer though?" Sirius added under his breath.

"Excuse me?" James asked, as he swapped cups with Sirius.

"Hestia and I have been arguing a lot, y'know… Prongs it looks like you're going to die young according to this cup, now of course you are! Now what does mine say?" Sirius asked as he consulted his textbook to make sure his prediction was correct and to avoid James' prying eyes.

"Let's hope I won't die young! Now tell me more about these arguments?" James asked, ignoring Sirius' question of what his tea cup read.

"Just stupid stuff, everything that happens we just bicker all the time. I think she's going to end it to be honest. Now what in Merlin's name does my teacup say?!" Sirius countered in an attempt to change the topic of discussion.

"Calm down, I'll read it! Jeez!" James replied. "Well, that weird shape there, I think that means that you'll be betrayed by a friend, well you'd better tell Lupin and Pettigrew to be nice to you because it's got to be him, I'd never do that! And that sort of strange line thing means jail – I think you're going to jail Pads!" James concluded.

"Well yours has a sort of dog shape; I think that's the grim…" Sirius added with a wicked grin. "Or maybe it's me!" Sirius added in a whisper. James chuckled.

"Maybe it's about us being you know whats!" James whispered back.

"What?" Sirius hissed back. "I have no clue what you are talking about?"

"Animagus you prat!" James hissed back.

"Yeah! Maybe Lupin gives us up, that's the betrayed by a friend – that why I'm going to jail, and you kill yourself to avoid going to Azkahban because you're not as strong or brave as me." Sirius declared proudly puffing out his chest and holding his head high.

"Of course you are Sirius." Alice interrupted, appearing at the edge of their desk.

"I am! Now what did your cup say?" Sirius inquired; resting his head on his hand as James pulled up a seat for Alice to sit on which she took thankfully.

"Same as usual _'an enemy will get the better of me'_ however _'a wedding will come'_ which is new, good too I guess." James nodded, consulting his textbook to see if he could identify the symbols that Alice had described.

"Not too bad – apparently I'm going to be betrayed by a friend and go to jail so yours sounds positively delightful!" Sirius laughed, Alice smiled, but there was something obviously playing on her mind.

"Are you and Hest alright?" Alice asked tentatively.

"Yeah sure, why would we not be?" Sirius replied, James raised an eyebrow his eyes lifted from his textbook and to Sirius, that was exactly the opposite of what he'd been saying a few minutes previous. Sirius seemed to notice James' staring and changed tact. "Well, we fight yeah, but everyone does that, right?" Sirius added, although it sounded like he was trying to reassure himself rather than anyone.

"Yes." Alice agreed, elongating the 'e' sound. "Me and Frank fight sometimes, and James and Lily do occasionally -" Alice stopped to gesture at James, who nodded, then as soon as Alice turned away, he shook his head, causing Sirius to chuckle to which Alice visually scolded the both of them. James returned to his textbook and Sirius returning to his counselling with Alice. "But all you and Hestia seem to do is fight. Have you even spoken to her today? She was in a foul mood this morning, nearly bit my head off when I asked to borrow her hairbrush!" the witch declared dramatically.

"No I haven't spoken to her today. We had a fight last night and now she's ignoring me. Don't look at me like that!" Sirius commanded as Alice looked on at him disapprovingly.

"What was it about this time?" Alice asked, this time slightly more softly.

"Um… we argued a few days ago, apparently I was flirting with someone - _I_ wasn't – but she said I was and went off the handle at me. Then she went and going all cosy with that Hufflepuff bloke, y'know that blonde one, friends with Cattermole." Sirius replied, his speech becoming quicker the more spoke.

"Bailey Cooper?" James interrupted. Sirius nodded. James raised an eyebrow.

"That's him. Well I said I didn't like how it was one rule for me and another for her so we had another fight and I haven't spoken to her since. I think she's going to end it soon anyway…" Sirius concluded glumly, his palms flat on the table, his head resting on them. James thought it was a sorry sight, the mighty womaniser Sirius Black, sulking over a girl. At the beginning of the year, Sirius had the pick of the lot, but no, he had to go and fall head over heels for the stubborn Hestia Jones, who like her best friend Lily, had a hot temper.

"After class, go and talk to her, see if you can work something out, I don't think she'll finish with you…" Alice spoke softly, patting Sirius' shoulder, however she didn't seem sure.

"Thanks Alice." Sirius replied though he didn't seem optimistic. James shook his head and buried himself into his divination textbook.

"But he was flirting with her wasn't he?!" Hestia demanded, their arithmancy class had quickly become a therapy session for Hestia. Lily rubbed her temple, a headache was approaching fast. She shook her head.

"I don't know." Lily admitted. Hestia sighed dramatically.

"_Well_, he was. And that is the end of that." She declared, flicking her brown curls over her shoulder and throwing her best smile at Bailey Cooper across the classroom who she knew had been watching her. He smiled back then his friend gestured towards the textbook and Bailey's attention was diverted, Hestia took this opportunity to duck behind Lily. Bailey was lovely, however he wasn't Sirius, she didn't even know why she was talking to the boy – other than the make Sirius jealous. Bailey was blonde, his hair was perfectly straight and was cut fairly short, slighty longer on top than the sides, Sirius was Black haired with long curls that fell in perfect waves around his face, framing it perfectly. Bailey had blue eyes, pretty enough, but they did nothing to her compared to the grey pair Sirius possessed, full of mystery and intrigue. Bailey was loud and funny, he enjoyed a drink, he made her laugh, his sense of humour was cleaner than Sirius' however she seemed to have less fun with Bailey, maybe it was because, he simply wasn't Sirius Black. Unconsciously Hestia sighed, trying to concentrate on the work set but she couldn't, her brain was seriously scrambled.

"You should talk to him you know." Jessica interrupted Hestia's thought train, Hestia looked up, Jessica sat on the table in front was now turned round to face the curly haired witch. "It's obvious you miss him, now go and talk to him, _obviously_ not right now because we're in arithmancy class and Professor Stone would probably kill you, but still after class, go and talk to him." Jessica advised. Without looking up from her work, Lily nodded and mumbled something that vaguely resembled "I agree." A second later, Hestia felt a tap on her shoulder, she turned round to see Remus and Frank staring at her, small smiles across their faces.

"We agree too." Frank said, gesturing between himself and Remus, who made a cheesy thumbs up gesture, a stupid smirk plastered across his face. Hestia laughed out loud. Bailey Cooper turned to stare again from the other side of the room, but this time Hestia didn't notice, her brain was full of Sirius Black.

**Authors note: hope you like this chapter – as I said, I didn't mean to write so much about Regulus, it just sort of happened! But I'm glad it did because I've been meaning to get it in somewhere and just haven't had the right chapter… and we haven't had much Hestia/Sirius stuff for a while, and I mentioned after the Christmas chapter that they'd been bickering so I thought I'd follow that direction, I'm sorry to anyone for them fighting! And once again I apologise for the long wait for this chapter, I tried to make it quite long to make up for it, but alas it didn't end as long as I wanted. Anyway I hope you like it! Remember to review! xxx**


	37. Reconciliation

**Author's note: So, I don't think I've mentioned this before – I'm too lazy to look back and check – that I wanted to rewrite some of the opening chapters to this story because I feel they need doing, when I first starting writing it was rushed and I feel I can now do them more justice, so overall I've been rewriting the opening chapters as well as this one. I'll update two rewritten chapters every time I update a new chapter and I'll let you know which ones I do so you can go back and reread them if you want **** I won't change the plot at all, just alter the writing to make it sound better! If for any reason you don't like the new chapter and would like a copy of the old one, just drop me a message and I'll send you it **** now – on with the new chapter! (PS, I've updated chapters 1 and 2 so check them out too!)**

**Chapter 37:**

The tension in the common room was somewhat awkward, Sirius and Hestia _still_ weren't talking, and everyone was attempting to ignore the fact, but the tension that hung in the air was undeniable. The group were huddled around the fire, Sirius sat alongside Remus and James as they played Wizards Chess, Lily and Hestia sat across the table from him. Lily was watching the game intently and advising James on which moves to take whereas Hestia's head was apparently buried in a book. Although Sirius knew her too well, she wasn't reading, just trying to ignore the awkwardness that everyone knew was there but was ultimately attempting to pretend wasn't.

Everything seemed to be getting better, Sirius and Hestia had been talking and joking throughout dinner, but then Bailey Cooper appeared at the Gryffindor table Gryffindor table to see Hestia; she smiled appreciatively and flirted, she giggled and tossed her hair at exactly the right moment, blushed at his lightly suggestive remarks and kept just the right amount of attention on Bailey to make him feel special without overstepping her mental mark.

At this point most of the group took their leave and left, only Jessica, Lily and Sirius remained and although Lily and Jessica didn't notice Hestia sending Sirius slight looks, he had. She was doing this on purpose, to get a reaction from him. He balled his fists and looked stern, but tried to keep any visible indicators of his true feelings hidden, much to the disappointment of Hestia, who gave up her flirting and filed back to the common room with the others.

Halled up in the squashy armchair, the one she usually shared with Sirius, Hestia scowled as she tried to finish the chapter of the arithmancy textbook they'd started in class, but her mind was not focused on it, instead she focused on Sirius sat on the opposite side of the table. They had been avoiding each other's gaze and pretending to read, or concentrate on the game of Wizard Chess unfolding before them. Sirius was confused, it was not a feeling he liked, he didn't know where he stood now, Hestia hadn't cheated on him, but she'd got close, the way Bailey's eyes lingered on her lips made him think he'd try and kiss her if given the right opportunity. Yes, he'd been flirting a bit with Samia Rain, but it wasn't like the way Hestia had flirted with Bailey, Sirius hadn't intended to take it any further, whereas he had no doubts that if Hestia thought that would get a reaction out of him, _she_ would.

She was watching him, he noticed and looked towards her, their eyes locking for a second and then he took his opportunity. Gesturing towards the dormitories with his eyes, she rolled hers, but followed him when he got up and made to leave. No-one said anything as they left; quite glad that they were actually going to talk or, well, scream, but at least it was progress.

"What?" Hestia demanded, slumping down onto Sirius' bed. She lay against the head rest, her knees pulled tight around her chest. Her blue eyes scanned Sirius' figure as he leant against the bedpost, watching the floor, as if waiting for her to make the first move, but Hestia Jones was stubborn. He'd brought this all on himself, he was the one flirting with Samia Rain, Bailey Cooper had just been retaliation. Sirius was the one who suggested they come to his dormitory; he was the one who could make the first move. He hadn't responded to her initial question and she felt her patience wear thin, if he didn't say anything soon, she was going to up and leave. She knew they should sort this but she was not in the mood right now, she rolled her eyes and he looked up to watch her. He looked down at his feet for a second and then back to her without speaking a word. She'd had enough.

"Look, if you want to try it on or something, or if you just brought me up here so we could make out, hurry up I have work to do." Hestia eventually snapped, her brows furrowing slightly.

"No I didn't. I'm not just interested in _that_ Jones." Sirius almost snarled, she flinched at the sound of her last name.

"Fine, _Black_. If we're back to that, then I guess you won't mind if I just go." She stood up to leave, but Sirius caught her hand and pulled her back, their eyes lingered on each other for a second and then his lips met hers. Neither one of them was sure which one had initiated the kiss but Hestia felt her resolve crumble as Sirius' lips brushed against hers, he kissed her lightly sending shivers down her spine. Pulling her closer, his hand crept from her waist up her back, his fingers caressing every contour of her body; the other hand entwined itself with hers. Tracing feather light kisses down her jaw, Hestia sighed contentedly. Hestia's breath caught in her throat as Sirius moved his kisses to the top of her neck; every bad thought now evaporated from her brain, every thought now involved Sirius and the way his kisses were driving her crazy. Sirius chuckled slightly, showering every inch of the exposed flesh on Hestia's neck with kisses. Her delicate fingers danced along his face and through his hair. She manoeuvred him back to her lips and allowed his tongue entrance to her mouth; he pulled her closer still, his hand now resting on the bottom of her spine. With no further hesitation, she moved her hand from his hair down his face, lightly scratching the soft flesh of his cheeks with her nails; finally she found his school tie and pulled, guiding him towards his bed. Falling backwards onto it, he fell on top of her; he propped himself onto one of his elbows and deepened the kiss. Hestia held his face with both her hands, Sirius' fingers trailing up her side and across the bare flesh of the stomach where her shirt had ridden up; he delicately traced his fingers across her chest until his hand rested by her face.

"Sirius." She moaned, his kisses finding her neck once more, pleasure coursed through her body, her back arching against his body. He lessened his weight on his elbows and pressed his body against hers, his weight now on her completely, the contours of his body slotting into hers. Weaving his now free hand through hair and he trailed his other down her face and neck, finding the buttons on her shirt, he skilfully undid each one, his fingers lightly skimming her skin each time. Her exposed flesh tingled at his light touch and she longed to feel his skin against her own. Fumbling, she managed to untangle his tie and clumsily undid his buttons, his flesh finally coming into contact with hers as he struggled to free himself from his shirt. Without breaking the kiss Hestia pulled his shirt from him and she shrugged off hers. The kiss continued, but slower and deeper, his whole mouth pressed against hers, his tongue exploring her mouth, she tasted of pumpkin juice and hours ago toothpaste. Every time their flesh came into contact sparks flew, the inconsistent contact was brain driving her crazy, adrenaline running through her veins she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him as close to her as she could, the silky fabric of her bra coming into contact with his tanned skin. His skin was warm against hers and she could feel his heart beating fast through his chest against hers; her whole body longed to be in contact with his, but he pulled away, once again returning to his elbows above her.

"Hestia." He croaked, just content for a second to watch her. She looked radiant laid on against his pillows, her chocolate coloured curls fanned out around her face, her blue eyes watching him confused.

"Sirius?" she asked, one hand still loosely hung around his neck, the other pressed against his chest. Her lips were slightly swollen from kissing and her cheeks were flustered, her tanned skin glowing in the dim evening light, she looked perfect to him. Her eyes trailed across his face and rested on his lips, how she needed those red lips against her own. He noticed her staring and pressed his face nearer to hers. Her breath warm on her cheeks.

"Do you love me?" he asked, longing to feel her skin beneath his fingertips but resisting the urge, he needed to know. Sure, she'd said she it before, but that didn't matter, right here, right now, he needed you know.

"Of course I do, you idiot!" she answered, pulling his face towards her own and kissing him lightly. "Of course I love you." he pulled away as she ran her fingers through his hair. They studied each other intently for just a moment, her eyes focusing on his mouth again, betraying how much she wanted him to kiss her again, as Sirius tried to take in the beautiful girl who had just told him that she loved him, but there was something else Sirius needed to know. He admired her exposed chest then back to her face, compiling his Gryffindor courage.

"Do you love Bailey Cooper?" he asked, it was only up close that Hestia saw the doubt in his eyes, and she realised she'd caused that. She had never meant to hurt him; she loved him for Merlin's sake! She'd been jealous when she'd seen him talking with Samia and wanted him to feel the same, but she'd gone too far, she'd caused him to doubt everything that she had taken so much care to build up.

"Of course not baby." She whispered, she felt tears congregate in her eyes but she subdued them. Sirius half smiled and planted a single kiss on her lips. "I'm so sorry." She attempted to say but he cut her off with another slightly longer kiss, his lips lingering against hers.

"And I don't love Samia." He added smiling, kissing her lips again before his lips travelled across her jawline and to around her ear. "I love you." he whispered into her ear, before showering her face with kisses, she giggled and wriggled beneath him, he laughed too and kissed her again. Nothing was said, but it was implied – no more mucking around, they were both serious about his relationship so no others, no petty arguments, just them.

"I love you so much." Sirius moaned against her lips.

"You'd better do." She replied, trailing her fingers down his abdominal muscles which appeared more defined in the oncoming darkness and towards his waist, lightly scratching the exposed skin. "Because I bloody love you." She added as she popped the button on his trousers open and he laughed as he proceeded to remove more of her clothing.

"I do, I do, I do. I bloody love you Hestia Jones."

"Do you think it's safe to go back up there?" Remus asked gesturing to the dormitory two more games of Wizards Chess later. Darkness had overtaken the castle and the common room was only dimly lit by the torches lit around the room. James looked up at the stairs for a moment and then shook his head, before making a fatal move to which his chess pieces scolded him.

"Check mate." Lily said. "I win." She beamed, her own pieces cheering and pulling rude faces at James' who did not look best pleased at being beaten.

"Want me to go check?" Peter yawned.

"Go ahead." James replied. "But don't go in, just listen at the door. What you see inside might be visually scarring." He added as an afterthought. Peter nodded and scurried from his position on the floor up the stairs, he was only gone for a matter of seconds before he returned again.

"Well there are giggles and lots of squealing – I'm guessing that's a good sign?" Peter asked, not quite knowing what to make of the situation. Remus raised an eyebrow and exchanged a look with James.

"Yes." James replied. "I'm guessing we're sleeping in the common room tonight then boys!" he added, rubbing his hands together with apparent glee.

"Why are you sleeping in the common room?" Jessica asked, crossing the virtually empty common room from the portrait hole with Alice, only the seventh years and a pair of sixth year girls remained, although they were tucked in the opposite corner working on a transfiguration project so didn't seem bothered with the seventh year conversation.

"Sirius and Hestia are in ours." Peter replied. Jessica and Alice shrugged.

"So?" they asked in unison.

"Making up." Remus said a mischievous tone to his voice. The thought hit Jessica and Alice simultaneously.

"I think he's getting lucky." James added.

"Oh." Alice replied, causing the others the laugh at the girl's naivety. Lily packed away her chess pieces and pinched Alice's cheeks and cooed, Alice scowled at her before breaking out into giggles too.

"We're not sure what they're doing up there, so we thought it best to sleep in the common room." James explained, packing away the wizard Chess set and yawning.

"You can't do that, it'll be freezing! Grab your stuff – you can sleep in our room." Alice offered. The boys looked between themselves and shrugged, Jessica and Lily exchanged glances, was this really a good idea?

"Sounds like a plan." Remus added with a grin. "Thanks girls." Alice smiled and headed up to their dormitory. Lily and Jessica stayed with the boys while they summoned their things from their room - a sight which must have been hilarious for Sirius and Hestia as stuff randomly vanished from the boy's dormitory, that was if they weren't too engrossed in each other to notice. James summoned his broom and as he was the best flier, he took the majority of the boy's things up to the top of the staircase and put them on the step outside the girl's room, avoiding the trick staircase; Jessica took them in and piled them up on the spare bed. Lily chauffeured the broom down the stairs for Remus to fly up on, and then finally for Peter who nearly fell off half way up. Lily pushed open the door to the dormitory and James placed his broom down behind the door.

"So girls it's a sleepover!" James squealed, his voice an octave higher than usual.

"I always knew you were secretly a girl." Lily replied with a wicked grin.

"Oi! Get lost you." James countered, shoving her playfully before kissing her temple lightly.

"Right, Remus you can have Hestia's bed and Peter you can have the spare one, James you'll have to share with Lily. That alright?" Alice asked, the boys all nodded.

"And no funny business you two!" Jessica joked, pointing between James and Lily as she walked into the bathroom to change.

"Me Miss Silvers?" James asked pretending to be thoroughly offended. "I'm the picture of innocence, Miss Evans here though – she's the one you should be watching!" Lily shoved him this time. "See what I mean! She just assaulted me!" James laughed, pulling Lily close and kissing the top of her head. Alice clapped her hands together and ushered them all into bed, her usual mother hen routine.

… _Maybe having the Marauders to stay in our room wasn't such a good idea_ Alice mused, as Peter brushed her remark off and began talking with Jessica, who had now returned pyjama clad, about some homework piece. _What have I let myself in for? _She mentally sighed.

"Morning you." Sirius whispered sleepily, kissing Hestia's nose. The half-asleep girl smiled unconsciously.

"Morning to you." She yawned, pulling Sirius close and kissing him lightly before rolling over and attempting to fall asleep again. Sirius laughed.

"Hestia Jones get up, I want breakfast and you're coming with me." He complained, still laughing lightly.

"But it's Saturday, I don't want to get up." Hestia moaned.

"Well, if you don't come with me, who is going to fight off Samia rain when she comes and tries to chat me up?" Sirius replied with faux innocence as he climbed out of bed and pulled on a pair of jeans from his trunk – on second thought it might have been James' trunk, oh well they were clean. Hestia had now rolled back over and was watching him with her eyebrows raised.

"You're a git, you know that?"

"You love it." Sirius countered. He turned around as he pulled on a black t-shirt, Hestia admired how his shoulders muscles rippled, he noticed her watching in the mirror beside James' bed as he pulled on a black shirt over the top and fastened the bottom, leaving it open at the top, he turned back to face her. "Are you checking me out Jones?" he asked mischievously, winking at her.

"Definitely not Black!" Hestia giggled, throwing a pillow towards Sirius, he ducked and it missed, landing the other side of James' bed.

"Alright, you keep telling yourself that because you were _so_ checking me out." Sirius teased, leaning over and kissing her cheek. "Get dressed. I'm off to find the boys then I'll meet you in the common room. Fifteen minutes?"

"Ugh… okay." Hestia moaned, it wasn't even half past eight on a Saturday and she was already getting up, this would have been unheard of in the girl's dormitory. Sirius grabbed his wand, stuffed it into his pocket as well as a few other things from his bedside table and left the room to find the other Marauders; he had a good idea where they would be.

"I love you!" Sirius called from half way down the stairs, and Hestia beamed to herself, covering her face with her hands. Sirius loved her; she would never quite get over that. She yawned again; the tired part of her brain told her she could quite easily stay in bed for another half an hour and only get up when Sirius came to find her, but the rational part told her she should probably get up. As she decided on which bit she should at on, a knock at the window collided with her thought bubble and popped it. Reluctantly she peeled back the duvet and wrapped Sirius' dressing gown around herself, making her way over the window. She noticed it was an owl, one she vaguely recognised, that had knocked at the window. Struggling with the lock she finally managed to prise it open far enough to untie the letter from the owl's leg and for it to peck her finger, hard enough to draw blood.

"Ow!" Hestia cursed, putting the finger in her mouth to stop the bleeding. "Damn owl." She muttered under her breath as the owl, sensing its letter had been delivered, flew off. She expected that the letter would be addressed to one of the Marauders, after all this was their dormitory, but she was surprised to find it addressed to her. Even stranger when she opened the envelope she found not a letter, but what looked like the top of her favourite pair of skinny jeans. Hestia noticed on the inside flap of the envelope there was writing, the familiar looped writing of Lily Evans, she smiled at the sight and began to read:

'_Hestia, as you didn't spend last night in our dormitory I'm guessing you have no clothes to change into and to save you the walk of shame back to our dorm, I, being the bestest friend ever, managed to put an extension charm on this envelope and fit your jeans and a shirt in, hope it's okay._

_Love Lily xx_

_PS they might be a bit creased, even with an extension charm, it was squeeze! Jess and I ripped three envelopes trying!'_

Hestia beamed, oh Lily, where would she be without her? Changing quickly, Hestia was relieved to find a comb and her mascara at the bottom of the envelope, something Lily had forgotten to mention. After attempting to make her hair presentable, she applied a few coats of mascara. Standing back to survey her appearance in the bathroom mirror, she didn't think she looked too bad considering her limited resources, unfortunately the boys bathroom was not equipped with her full make up bag, favourite bottle of perfume or a set of eyebrow tweezers, there was however a can of hairspray which she used, deciding not to question why the boys had hairspray in their bathroom.

Returning to the boy's room, she bundled up yesterday's school uniform, leaving it in a pile on Sirius' bed that she could retrieve later, and slipped on her comfy black pumps that she'd been wearing yesterday and slowly made her way down the stairs towards the common room. Sirius was nowhere to be seen but she wasn't too disappointed, she settled in an armchair and began with her arithmancy textbook that she had been so distracted from yesterday that was still lying discarded on the table.

"Wakey wakey!" Sirius chanted upon entering the girl's dormitory. Lily and Jessica were the only ones awake – unusual as the two of them were normally the latest risers. Lily yawned, she still wore her pyjama bottoms, despite wearing a floral printed vest top and white cardigan with her hair pulled up in a loose bun.

"Morning Lily!" Sirius called out, but received a frosty glare, Lily might have been awake, but she was not in a good mood. Jessica however was completely dressed and was attending to her hair in the bathroom mirror; she stuck her head out and waved upon hearing Sirius' shouts.

"They won't get up." Lily moaned "and if I'm up then they have to be." The redheaded witch complained. The _'they'_ Lily was referring to was the Marauders who were all still dozing (Sirius guessed they'd be in here) and Alice who was wide awake but refusing to get out of her bed. Sirius nodded, and tried to formulate a plan to get them up. Lily sensing that this might be noisy, grabbed her leggings and make up bag and joined Jessica in the bathroom, where she could finish getting ready in peace.

"Hey, Al?" Sirius asked in his most polite tone.

"No." Alice answered, as Sirius made his way over to Alice's bed.

"Help me wake up the others? You can shout at them?" Sirius offered, sitting on the edge of Alice's bed. Alice contemplated Sirius' offer, he noted that her dark blonde hair stuck out at odd angles in the morning, but chose not to comment on it.

"Fine." She agreed, pulling off the duvet and jumping out of bed. "Right, can we tickle them until they get up?" Alice asked.

"I was just going to suggest we shout in their ears, your plan is much better!" Sirius concluded, he liked the mischievous side of Alice, a cheeky grin suited her.

Remus was their first target, but after approximately four seconds of tickling he was wide awake and out of bed, complete with a furious scowl. Peter took longer, 15 seconds of tickling was all he lasted and they never even got to James, he told them if they touched him he'd curse them into next week as he reluctantly climbed out from Lily's bed.

23 minutes later the whole group was washed, clothed and ready for breakfast.

"Come on guys." Sirius urged. Peter climbed on the back of Sirius' broomstick and he ferried him to the bottom. James clambered sleepily onto his own and joined his friends at the bottom. Remus, too tired to bother climbing down the stairs waited until everyone else had made their way to the bottom and the put his foot on the first step. At the male contact, the staircase transformed into a slick ramp rather than a set of stairs and he slid all the way down. James high fived him.

"Good thinking Moony!" James congratulated. "Now, breakfast?" he offered.

"Yes please, I'm starving!" Hestia answered, popping up from behind them; Sirius raised his eyebrow but said nothing.

"Alright then, onward march troops! To yonder breakfast table!" Sirius commanded and the group scrambled out the portrait hole and towards the Great hall.

"Do you have to do that at the breakfast table?" Jessica asked. Sirius smirked; Hestia was sat in his lap and she too grinned.

"I don't know what you mean Jess?" Hestia replied feigning innocence.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Sirius added, as he leant in and kissed Hestia enthusiastically. Hestia giggled and Jessica mimed being sick.

"Don't you want me to feed you too Jessica?" Alice teased, holding a piece of toast in front of her best friend's face and waggling it around just like Hestia had done for Sirius moments before. Jessica glared at her.

"Just because _they_ do it doesn't mean you have to Al." Jessica moaned. Lily chuckled from across the table.

"Oh lighten up Jess; at least it's better than them fighting." Lily suggested.

"Hmm, I don't know." Remus interrupted, eyeing Sirius and Hestia who were nuzzling each other and dropping kisses all over each other's face.

"I think I prefer the bickering." Jessica concluded, dropping the toast she was eating, it seemed public displays of affection made you lose your appetite. James leant into Lily and whispered in her ear.

"We're not like that are we?" he asked.

"No we're much classier." She replied, kissing his cheek and returning to her breakfast with a cheeky grin. Peter chuckled at Lily's comment.

"Come on Jess, at least Bailey Cooper isn't coming over here every five minutes now." Alice hissed.

"True, where is our favourite Hufflepuff?" Jessica laughed.

"Over there sending death glares towards Sirius." Remus chuckled; the group took turns to turn and see Bailey's expression, a mixture of anger, confusion and what Lily suspected was longing. Reg Cattermole was sat at his side, chatting away about something but Bailey didn't seem to be listening anymore, he had noticed Hestia's friends looking at him and shifted his gaze to his breakfast plate in front of him.

"Doesn't look too happy does he?" Alice noted, before she took a bite out of her seeded bagel.

"Hit the nail on the head there Alice!" Frank interrupted before taking a seat next to Alice. "Morning love." He added, affectionately kissing Alice's cheek and taking a slice of toast from the wrack. Jessica through her arms in the air dramatically.

"Am I the only one here who is not completely loved up?!" she complained.

"Me and Remus aren't." Peter replied, Remus blushed slightly; Jessica appeared to have got over her infatuation with Remus, however he couldn't say the same for her, there was still a small feeling of butterflies whenever he looked at her. Jessica nodded as if in thought.

"I'm going to go out and fly for a bit, see you guys later?" she asked, rising from the table.

"Later Silvers." James and Sirius chorused, Lily and Hestia waved and Alice blew a kiss and promised to meet up later so they could work through their homework together.

"What does she see in him though? I just don't get it!" Bailey Cooper ranted; his blonde hair was perfectly arranged around his face to frame his amber coloured eyes. His ginger haired friend Reginald Cattermole rolled his eyes, that was the fifth time Bailey had asked that question that morning. "Look at him, he's nothing special, he's a pureblood, so what? He's been kicked out of his own house _and_ he's a troublemaker! What would she want him?!" Bailey added. Meghan Daley, their fellow seventh year responded this time.

"Maybe because he's _Sirius Black_." She answered as if it was obvious. Bailey stared at her confused, Meghan was a relatively ordinary looking witch, shoulder length Black hair and a heavy side fringe which hung over her dark blue eyes, but there was something intriguing about her, something that Bailey had never quite been able to put his finger on. She took a bite of her toast and then returned to her point. "He's gorgeous, he's popular and he's a Gryffindor, not to mention he's her boyfriend!" Meghan hissed, her voice low and harsh. "You really think she'd leave her boyfriend of how long for a quick fling with you? Because that's all that you want isn't Bailey?" even Reginald recoiled slightly, Bailey looked furious as Meghan's scathing words. Meghan and Hestia weren't exactly what you'd call friends, but they'd been paired together several times in herbology and they got along well so Meghan felt the need to stand up for Hestia as best she could, fair enough Hestia had taken the flirting a bit far but it had always been obvious she wasn't serious about Bailey.

"Well, I guess we've seen your true colours now haven't we Daley?" Bailey retorted bitterly, his eyes now focused again on Hestia who had kissed Sirius goodbye and was exiting the Great hall, alone.

"Here's my chance." He retorted, with a snort in Meghan's direction, she rolled her eyes as he stood and followed Hestia out of the hall.

Hestia walked slowly up the stairs and along the first floor corridor, stopping to admire the view from the window; the sun was shining, the blossom was in full bloom, the lake shimmered and the sky was virtually clear, the day was set to be beautiful. Her eyes lingered for another second on the view before she dragged herself away from the window and along the corridor, taking the long route towards the Gryffindor common room. Maybe she'd gather her cloak and go and watch Jessica fly, she might even take a walk through the grounds seen as though the temperature had risen from bitterly cold to relatively pleasant. Hestia's brain was swimming with the possibilities for her day until she was interrupted by a shout of her last name.

"Jones!" she turned to see Bailey Cooper at the end the corridor, he'd been running but now he had her attention he dawdles towards her, hands in pockets.

"Bailey." She smiled, fair enough she was done with using him to make Sirius jealous but that didn't mean they couldn't be civil to each other, even friends if he was so inclined. He returned her smile. As he closed the distance between them, he surveyed her figure, her simple white t-shirt clung to her curves, highlighting every contour of her skin and her skinny jeans did the same for her legs, without trying Hestia had managed to highlight every curve of her body. Hestia noticed his eyes trailing over her body and suddenly felt self-conscious, but he wasn't staring, he was admiring, still she felt uncomfortable at his gaze. "Cooper?" she asked, regaining his attention. He was now stood only inches from her. Roughly he slithered his hand around her waist, his hand dangerously close to her rear.

"What do you say, we skive off today? Spend the morning in my dorm getting to know each other better, my dorm mates won't be back until this evening." He asked suggestively, his amber eyes glittering only inches from hers. Hestia's uncomfortable feeling doubled.

"Um… I don't think so." She replied trying to wriggle from his grip, but he stood firm.

"Your dorm? I'm not picky." He countered, slithering his other arm around her waist, pulling her to face him. Hestia's skin crawled, was Bailey really trying this?

"Look Cooper, I have a boyfriend." Bailey flipped off her remark.

"I won't tell if you won't." He whispered, leaning into her ear, his breath tickling her ear, she recoiled and attempted to push his hands off her waist. "And call me Bailey, I think we're past last names don't you _Hestia_?" this time he tried to kiss her, his lips skimmed the sensitive skin on her neck and she took advantage of his momentary lapse of attention and pushed his arms from and stormed down the corridor.

"Come on Hest, surely you're not afraid of me?" he teased, following her and matching her pace.

"No, I'm not afraid of you _Cooper_." She hissed emphasising his last name. She stopping dead in her tracks and faced him. "And don't call me Hest, only my friends and my _boyfriend_ can call me that." She snapped, once again taking up her furious storming. Seriously? What was wrong with Bailey? Why was he all of a sudden so touchy feely and suggestive?

"So you really don't want me?" Bailey asked, once again matching her pace, his tone confused but there was an edge, anger maybe?

"Dead on Cooper, I don't want to be with you, I have a boyfriend who I'm in love with. You were just something to make him jealous." She spat, it sounded harsh but she didn't care, she just wanted him to leave her alone. Bailey increased his pace and stopped in front of her, blocking her path. "Move." She asked, but he ignored her.

"So you basically used me." He hissed.

"I did." Hestia replied shortly, there was no need for niceties anymore, they'd passed that.

"So you'd rather be that blood traitor Black than me?" he bitterly asked, his face contorting into one of rage.

"Don't you _dare_ say anything against Sirius." She warned. Bailey snorted and stifled a laugh. "What's so funny?" she demanded, folding her arms in front of her chest.

"They were right all along about you Jones, those other guys that is. They said you were nothing but a tart looking for a cheap thrill." His lip curled, he knew he'd hit a nerve.

"Care to repeat that?" she dared him, she was furious now. How dare her call her cheap, or a tart?!

"You heard what I said." He smirked. "And you might want to brush up on those concealment charms by the way, if you're really going to let Black maul you like that. After all, we wouldn't want anyone getting idea's about you now would we?" Bailey added with faux innocence, gesturing to the violet mark just behind her ear. She'd felt Sirius leave his mark last night but at the time thought nothing of it, then this morning she'd realised just how bright the mark was as she struggled with a concealment charm to try and cover it. She unfolded her arms and unfurled her fists. The slap was sharp and unexpected, knocking him slightly off balance.

"Git." She hissed, before taking off up the hallway once again, determined to spend the whole day sulking in her dormitory.

The other seventh year Gryffindor's, having decided to leave breakfast had followed Hestia from the hall and coming up the corridor they'd seen the whole scene unfold before them, hearing every word, unbeknown to Hestia and Bailey. Lily stifled a laugh, Bailey was watching Hestia storm away with a confused expression across his handsome features. Alice couldn't help but admire the perfect red handprint which was now imprinted across Bailey's cheek.

"That's my girl!" Sirius laughed, Bailey spun awkwardly around at the sound of his voice, trying to retain his arrogant air but it was wavering. Sirius smirked, quickly closing the gap between himself and the Hufflepuff student. "Try it on with her again and I'll hex you. Got it?" he threatened his tone suddenly more serious.

"You wouldn't dare Black." Bailey countered, his cocky smile returning. Sirius absently rolled his wand between his fingers, red sparks shooting from the end of it.

"Oh I think he would." James interrupted, and Bailey suddenly realised he was severely outnumbered and wouldn't gain anything from starting a duel with Black.

"Out my way." Cooper demanded, pushing Sirius out the way and scurrying down the corridor away from the small group of seven year Gryffindor's.

"Did I mention that I hate that bloke?" Sirius asked, his eyes narrowing as Bailey turned the corner at the end of the corridor.

"I think it might have slipped out once or twice." Remus grinned.

"Come on, let's go find Hestia." Lily offered and they all followed in the direction Hestia had taken off in.

**Authors note: Phew! Glad that's all finished – it seemed to take forever to write! Hope you like it **** A rewritten version of chapters 1 and 2 is now up, so check them out!**

**And because I just want to overload you with my writing, check out a one shot I put on about Petunia attending Harry's wedding **** thank you, remember to review! xxx**


	38. Confusion

**Authors note: CHECK ME OUT! New chapter update, as well as 6 REWORKED CHAPTERS! yes, there are seven chapters for you read! i've put up the reworked versions of chapters 3,4,5,6,7 and 8 as well as the new chapter 38, so hope you like!**

**There are lots of brief mentions of canon characters in this chapter so keep an eye out for them! Andremember to review! Oh, one more thing – to the reviewer who wanted me to check out their work, you weren't logged in so I couldn't follow a link to your profile, was the name you reviewed with you FF name? Just send me a message and I'll check out your fic. Anyways – on with chapter 38!**

_**Recap: Sirius and Hestia have been bickering since Christmas and this accumulated in a huge argument over Sirius flirting with other girls, Hestia – in an attempt to make Sirius jealous – flirted with Bailey Cooper but took it a bit far. Sirius and Hestia admit their differences, kiss and make up. The other Marauders end up spending the night in the girl's dormitory, much to the distain of Alice who regrets asking them to stay. The next morning Bailey collars Hestia in the hallway and tries to get her to go back to his dormitory with him, she refuses and they end up having an argument which ends with her slapping him (yay!). Hestia and Sirius are all happy again :D**_

"So you actually _slapped_ him? Right across the face?" Jessica questioned, her blue eyes glittering. Hestia nodded rather glumly. "I can't believe I missed it!" Jessica concluded, leaning back against the headboard of her bed, legs stretched so far they nearly hung off the end of her bed.

"Well that's what you get for going out for a solo fly when you're sulking." Alice teased, popping a Bertie Bott's every flavour bean into her mouth and recoiling at the taste of dirt that now filled her mouth, she offered one to Jessica who smiled appreciatively at the taste of banana.

"I wasn't sulking!" Jessica defended her bean only half chewed in her mouth. Sure, Hestia and Sirius had been insufferable at breakfast, completely soppy and cute but she wasn't sulking! Lily rolled her eyes, Jessica was the worst liar, Jessica had been sulking and everyone knew it.

"Oh I think you were." Remus countered, the boys had somehow ended up in the girl's room again, the common room was incredibly full and noisy so the seventh year girls had retreated to their dormitory, the boys had tried to stick it out but had eventually grown tired of the nonsense chatter that filled the air and had levitated it each other up to the girls dormitory a few minutes later. The group were spread out around the room, Jessica was laid out on her bed with Alice sat on the end of it, Lily was sat on hers with James sat on the floor beside it, her fingers idly playing with his hair – James doubted Lily was even aware she was doing it - Hestia had her bed to herself, Sirius was laid flat out on the carpet in the middle of the room, Remus was on the spare bed, and Peter sat on Alice's, Frank had appeared for a small while but had withdrawn to tutor a third year in Arithmancy, and promised he'd be back soon.

Remus grinned cheekily across the room; Jessica scoffed but didn't argue back, mainly because she had been lying, she had been sulking – not that she was about to admit that Remus was right. Jessica has gotten over her crush on Remus, or so she thought, whenever he was around, she still felt very conscious of what she was doing, what she was saying, how she looked… she had a soft spot for him she admitted, that was it – she was over her crush but a soft spot for the sandy haired Marauder still remained. She wasn't quite sure why she'd been sulking, she didn't think it was for Remus, or any other boy… maybe she just wished she could have someone like Hestia had Sirius, Alice had Frank and Lily had James, just someone to talk to when her friends were all off with their boyfriends, maybe it was just because she was jealous.

"Shame we had to dock points though…" James trailed off; Lily's arm was still leant over the side of her bed, her fingers still trailing through his hair, nails scratching his scalp lightly.

"It was only _five_ points each!" Hestia defended. "And _he_ shouldn't have started it, should he?! Git." she added, crossly folding her arms across her chest. Sirius smirked from his position stretched out on the floor; Hestia withheld a laugh that threatened to escape when she saw her boyfriend's face.

"_I_ did want to give you fifty points for slapping him but Remus said that wouldn't go down too well when I would have to fill out a form to say why I'd awarded points." James replied with a shrug.

"That reminds me," Lily cut in "I have to fill out some point deduction slips, we can do that after rounds tonight James." James nodded, but was secretly hoping Lily would forget, the forms were so tedious and boring; he'd rather not fill them out and go back to bed, Lily was about to reply when the clock above the fire chimed 6 o'clock and Peter sat bolt upright.

"Time for dinner!" he exclaimed enthusiastically "I'm starving!" the rest of the group burst out in peals of laughter, Remus stood and pulled Sirius to his feet, James linked arms with Lily and Hestia and the other two girls followed as the group crossed the dormitory and trooped outside. At the top of the stairs, Peter placed his foot on the top step which at the touch of a male reverted into its slide form, allowing them to slide form the top to bottom, Lily wondered why the founders had put in the trick staircase when it was so easy to overcome, maybe they didn't think anyone would try, she concluded, clearly they'd never met anyone like Sirius Black she giggled to herself as she slid down the polished wood and landed with a thump on the soft carpet of the common room.

The group crossed the common room followed the rest of Gryffindor house, led by the excited Marauder down towards the Great Hall, the smell of cooking filling their noses and setting their stomach's grumbling in anticipation.

"Hello, I'm glad you could all make it." Professor Dumbledore spoke into the relative silence of the Hogs Head Inn, his brother Aberforth stood behind the bar, a closed sign on the door. The small Inn was grimy and dark, but it was away from the main road where they would not be interrupted. "Now would you all follow me?" Dumbledore added, he nodded to Aberforth who pulled a small lever on the wall behind a pyramid of empty bottles of butterbeer and a door opened behind the bar. The small group of people followed the Professor round the bar and through the door, heels clicking against the eerie silence of the deserted pub. The doorway was so small everyone had to lean over to fit successfully through and led down a narrow corridor and after a sharp fork to the left ended in a fairly large room, empty apart from a long table and chairs. The room was dimly light, candles flickering from alcoves in the walls and a bare muggle light bulb hung from the ceiling. Unlike the rest of the pub, the room seemed fairy clean although, the carpet crunched slightly underfoot, but everyone was just happy that there were no obvious cobwebs or dust coating the room. "Please take a seat." The Headmaster requested and everyone filed around the table, filling only half of the seats.

"You might know why I have called you here today, you may not, but what I say is of the utmost importance and you must listen carefully so, should you agree, you know exactly what you are getting into. Aberforth, please close the door." The barman, who bore a remarkable resemblance to Dumbledore himself, closed the door and sealed it shut using the tip of his wand, in addition to muttering a silencio charm to keep what was said inside the dimly lit room.

"Now," the Professor started, visibly more relaxed. "The situation is dire; the need for someone ready to fight back is great. The ministry are not doing at all enough and for all we know Voldemort had infiltrated the Ministry and is pulling the strings behind the scenes. That is why a group like us is needed." He added, gesturing to the group of people sat around the table.

"So you want to form a group to fight against you-know-who?" Emmeline Vance asked, her voice quiet, but strong.

"Yes, and use his name Emmeline. Someone once told me, fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself." Dumbledore smiled, the former Head Girl nodded back. Silence ensued as the members of the group took in all the Headmaster was saying. "What I am asking you to do is dangerous, about that I will not lie. I can't assure your safety, although I try my utmost to protect every single person, but promises I cannot give. It is true; some may lose their lives… But there _must_ be someone willing to stand up and face him, or we will inevitably all lose our lives if Voldemort comes to power." Then someone broke the silence, they stood and turned to face professor Dumbledore head on.

"Well I'm in. I'm a successful Auror, but I'm getting towards the age when I must retire, but I've still got plenty of fight left in me. Albus, count me in." a man with messy black hair and sparkling blue eyes said.

"Edward are you sure?" his wife asked from his side, her tone shaky.

"Of course I'm sure Sarah. I want to do this, the wizarding world needs someone to fight back, I'm not going to sit around and watch the world I _love_ be destroyed. And what about _James_? Do you want him to grow up in a world where he will be judged because of his blood status? And what about Lily, if we don't do anything, she'll probably be killed, and you know what that would do to James." Edward Potter argued, hoping he would get through to his wife who was looking pensive. At the mention of her son and future daughter-in-law, Sarah Potter felt her resolve crumble.

"Me too." She added after a few seconds silence. Professor Dumbledore smiled, the Potter's were both distinguished aurors and to have their skills on side would be incredibly beneficial.

"Count me in too." A large man gruffed from a standing position behind the Potter's. "If my team are in, then I best be too." Dumbledore exhaled deeply, everything was coming together, Alastor Moody was the best auror the department had ever known, despite all his quirks his experience would be invaluable. Edward Potter turned and shook hands with Moody, they both nodded and Edward returned to his chair, squeezing his wife's hand. A few minutes later, Caradoc Dearborn, Daedalus Diggle and Elphias Doge had too joined the new alliance. Emmeline Vance was not far behind, Fabian and Gideon Prewett followed suit, Mundungus Fletcher reluctantly followed as well as Sturgis Podmore.

The only member of the group around the table who had not said a word was a blonde witch who sat quietly, seemingly lost in her own thoughts.

"Marlene?" Emmeline asked, squeezing the witch's arm lightly, bringing her back to the world, she looked up and realised everyone was looking expectantly at her. She turned to face her old Headmaster who was watching her intently.

"I-I-I'm sorry, I cant." She said, and hung her head into her chest. She took a deep breath and then turned to face Dumbledore again. "I know what Voldemort can do, how he ruins lives. If we fight him, we could lose our lives too. That's something _I _know a lot about." She added bitterly as she grimaced. Scraping her chair backwards, she made to leave, but was stopped by a familiar voice.

"Marlene Scarlet McKinnon, you stop right there." Marlene turned to see Sarah Potter stood in front of her chair, her eyes flaring behind her glasses, the silver streaks in her hair giving her an air of authority. "Your parents died doing what was right, they were standing up for something that they believed in, and yes, you are bitter. You're broken inside, but if Voldemort takes over, then everything they died for was in vain." Sarah had everyone hanging on her every word, Marlene just stared back at her, not quite knowing what to say, Sarah took this as a cue to carry on. "Scarlet McKinnon was my best friend, and Elijah was the man who would sort everything out when everything went wrong," she smiled slightly at their memory "but they knew what they were doing, they knew the risks. We all knew the risks," she said gesturing to members around the table, the Prewett brothers both nodded, having just graduated from the Auror Academy, they were just taking on their first assignments. "We knew the job was dangerous when we took it; we don't become aurors because it's a safe job. We become aurors to stand up for what is right, to take a stand against people like Voldemort. If you sit at home and sulk, become bitter and twisted, what would your parents think, they raised a better child than that Marlene." Sarah finally thought she was getting through to Marlene, but the young witch's face hardened, her pretty features contorted into something that looked like rage.

"You can lecture me all you like _Mrs Potter_, but you don't know what this feels like, you don't know what it feels like to lose something you love like that! I saw them die in front my own eyes; I saw them torture my dad until he _begged_ for mercy. I saw my mother killed as she tried to save me. They were just lying there on the floor, dead and I had to fight on to save myself, so don't you dare tell me about what fighting for what is right." Marlene spat. "You don't have a clue what this feels like."

"Marlene…" Emmeline, tried to soothe from her position across the table.

"Shut _up_ Vance." Marlene snapped, Emmeline looked like she'd been slapped. "None of _you_ know what this feels like!" the blonde witch snapped, now addressing the whole room as opposed to just Sarah. "And I'm sorry if I want to protect myself, I don't want to end up like my parents, dead, all that's left of them is a name on a stupid memorial!" tears were spilling from her eyes and running down her cheeks, her hands were curled into fists, her body visibly shaking.

"Marlene Scarlet McKinnon, your parents died doing what was right and they'd be incredibly disappointed with you if they knew you were running away like this. No, you don't have to fight, but running away is _not_ an option for you. There's a price on your head already, the death eaters want you _dead_, and they'll stop at nothing until you are." Edward tried to reason, standing up from his chair; he stepped closer towards the shaking Marlene, who let him approach. "You evaded them once, and that was sheer luck. Next time you might not be so lucky… if you stay on your own they'll kill you for sure, but, with _us," _he gestured to the other around the table "you stand a chance, please Marlene let us help you." Edward was almost begging now, Marlene might want to run away from everything that was happening, but she had no choice, she was already involved in the war whether she liked it or not.

"What you don't understand Miss McKinnon," Professor Dumbledore interrupted "your parents knew what they were getting themselves in to, they knew the risks. But they knew what they were doing was for the greater good." The old Professor attempted a small smile, which Marlene didn't reciprocate. Locking eyes with Sarah Potter, Marlene McKinnon knew what she had to do, but she needed time to let reality sink in.

"I'll think about it." Marlene said quietly a moment later. Edward Potter exhaled with relief.

"Thank you." Professor Dumbledore spoke, she nodded, no emotion behind her eyes, and with that, she left.

The Potter's returned to their home weary and tired. The owl from Dumbledore which requested their presence at the Hogs Head Inn had arrived no more than five minutes after they had returned home from the Ministry, their work day had barley finished when they had to leave at short notice.

The night had now descended onto their home and their tiredness began to take full effect. Sarah yawned as she crossed the threshold, Max the house elf stood on the inside, arms outstretched ready to take their coats, normally Sarah would have resisted and done it herself, careful not to tire their beloved house elf, but right now she was far too tired to argue. Max took their coats and hung them in the cloak room and ushered them through to the sitting room and gestured to the settee before scurrying off to the kitchen to prepare supper for the couple. Sarah sat in silence for a moment or two, Edward seemed to be in deep thought and she was reluctant to disturb him but after a minute she felt the curiosity rise and she felt the need to know.

"What's wrong Edward?" she asked, breaking her husband from his thought bubble.

"Probably nothing," he replied "Just a feeling." He tried to shake off the conversation but Sarah was not giving up.

"Explain." Sarah added, a demand, not a request.

"It's just Marlene; I can't stop thinking about her. Did you know she's moved back into the old house? She's living in the annex, I don't like it, I don't like it all. And I've just got this _feeling _like something is wrong." Edward not noticed the uncomfortable feeling that had settled over him as they left the Hogs Head, he wasn't sure what it was at first, but he recognised it as worry a while later. He was worried about Marlene, if the death eaters had been able to break through the McKinnon defences once, they could get through again. Scarlett and Elijah would have put intricate defences on the house, he doubted Marlene would be able to duplicate these – her parents were trained aurors, Marlene had barely left school. He tried to shake the feeling off but he couldn't.

"I'm worried about her too, she's devastated about her parents – rightly so – but she's taking her grief out on herself. I think she feels she shouldn't be happy and she won't allow herself to be kept safe, looked after." Sarah agreed, thankfully taking the cup of tea from the house elf that held it out for her. Edward nodded, not quite sure what to add, the night had gone on much longer than he had anticipated, after Marlene had left the meeting had taken a more serious tone, what should be done and how they go about it. The adrenaline rush that spread through his veins as Dumbledore had explained his plans, was exhilarating. Edward felt _alive_ – the same feeling he'd got the first time he'd been in the Auror Academy, a feeling he didn't get very often nowadays. Sarah and he were often called out on raids or to arrest, but less and less were they actually required to do any actual work, their job seemed to be increasingly just paperwork or supervision – the exciting parts of the job doled out to the new young recruits, fresh faced and bright eyed. That was the problem with age, it had a habit of hindering you, inside Edward still felt like the 18 year old boy who had joined the academy, he could still keep up with James as he flew around the Quidditch field and ran laps around their estate every morning, but because of a number on a file, he couldn't do most of the job he loved so much, it was enough to make a man bitter.

Edward and Sarah were prematurely pulled from their thoughts by hammering on the front door – not a common occurrence. Not many people knew the passcode to their defences, and with the war that number had diminished significantly. Edward stood abruptly and hurried to the door, his red headed wife not far behind. The door swung open, stood in the doorway was a young woman, her blonde hair soaked with rain and what looked like blood, running from cuts along her hairline. Her green eyes were bruised and swollen, a gash ran from the bottom of her left eye and across her cheek, weeping and bleeding. Clad in only a pair of leggings, a vest top and a thin cardigan, the rain stung her skin as it fell thick and heavy. Her trembling palms were held out towards them, glazed in blood, far too much to be her own; her clothes were ripped, showing bruises and wounds along her legs and torso that would have otherwise been covered. She stood there in front of them hopeless, trembling and cold.

"Marlene?" Edward questioned, although he already knew the young woman in front of him was Marlene McKinnon.

"Th-ey-ey they came for me…the death eaters…" she choked, her voice breaking. "And I think I killed someone…"

**Authors note: DUN DUN DUN! Oooh, I bet you weren't expecting that! Muhahahaa :D I'm so evil to leave it there, I'm sorry but I had to and if you live in the UK and have ever watched **_**Eastenders**_** you know that would have totally be a duff duff duff moment! Well, I hope you like it – lots of mentions of canon characters, and possibly some more to come soon remember to review! **


	39. Future

**Authors note: hello **** thank you for reading this far! With the last few chapters, I've felt like I've rushed them and in a bid to get them up and on here as quickly as possible, so with this chapter I took my time and made it longer than one of my usual chapters. I hope you don't mind that it took a little bit longer, but hopefully the quality will be better for it! **

**PS massive thank you to **_**ClaireBear1982**_** for pointing out a few spelling mistakes, I've now amended them! And reposted the chapter **

**PPS if you have Tumblr, check me out . (same as my pen name on here) I might put some snippets on there or information about when I'm updating **** right, I really am done now!**

_**Recap: Sirius and Marlene McKinnon have a brief fling over the summer, both trying to get over other people, Sirius over Hestia, who he is now dating again, and Marlene over Kingsley Shacklebolt. The group of 7**__**th**__** year Gryffindor's are all sat around in the girl's dormitory, Jessica is sulking because she missed Hestia slapping Bailey Cooper because she was outside sulking. Professor Dumbledore gathers round a small group of people in the Hogs Head Inn and discusses the need for a resistance group to fight back against Voldemort. Marlene McKinnon is present and voices her opposition to the group, she would rather preserve her own life than work towards saving other, but Sarah Potter knows she is only saying this out of grief and her and Dumbledore remind her that her parents wouldn't want her to act in this way, she agrees to think on the proposal and leaves. Later, when Edward and Sarah have returned home they hear a knock at the door – it is Marlene, she is covered in cuts and bruises, there is blood in her hair and all over her hands, she says the death eaters came for her and she thinks she killed someone…**_

_**Chapter 39: **_

"I've been thinking, about the future…" James said into the relative quiet of the Head Student office, Lily visibly stiffened at his words. Her hand hovering over the paperwork, frozen to the spot.

"What about?" Lily asked through gritted teeth. James noticed but tried to pretend he hadn't, instead he buried himself in the Quidditch pitch rota, assigning Slytherin the pitch for the following Thursday evening and Ravenclaw for Friday.

"Oh, you know," James tried to flip off the statement at Lily's obvious tension, but then decided against it, they needed to discuss life after Hogwarts, they only had a few months left and then they'd be on the outside, on their own. "House, jobs, that sort of thing. Did you know, Sirius' Uncle left him a load of gold in his will and a house in London? I think he wants us all to move in with him." James looked up to see her reaction, her posture had loosened and she was smiling as she added a name to the Prefect rota.

"That sounds great." She replied. Where at first her positive attitude seemed natural, it now seemed forced.

"You alright Lil?" James asked, rising from behind his desk and crossing the room until he reached hers. He perched himself on the edge of her desk, moving the half complete Prefect rota out of the way as to not smudge the still wet ink. She wouldn't meet his eyes; content with staring into her lap, her fingers idly fiddling with the sleeve of her woollen cardigan. A feeling of panic rose in James' chest but he subdued it dismissing it as silly, although the feeling still lingered. He repeated himself. "Lil, are _you_ alright?" she exhaled deeply. It was only then when she raised her head and met his gaze did he notice that her emerald eyes that were usually so full of life were devoid of the playful glitter, instead they were brimming with unshed tears and she looked lost. "Lily…" James breathed and moved closer to wrap her in his arms, but she held up her finger gesturing for one second. James, confused, looked on as she leant into the top left hand drawer on her desk, slowly withdrawing a copy of what looked like the Daily Prophet, but why did Lily have a copy of the paper stored away in her desk? He thought she'd cancelled her subscription? But the scribbled name on the top wasn't hers; it belonged to another Gryffindor student _Harper Flint,_ a fourth year? Delicately Lily leafed through the pages until her eyes settled on the headline, James stood behind her, his head resting on her shoulder as he read the article that Lily had turned to.

'**Muggle Born Regulation Act to come into force on May 1****st****.**

**From the first of May, all witches and wizards born of Muggles must register with the Ministry of Magic by 6 PM GMT or risk fines of up to 100 Galleons. All employers must declare how many Muggle-borns they have working within their business or risk fines of up 50 Galleons, and there will be a tax of 5% of all yearly profits from the business for every muggle-born witch or wizard working for the business. All job applications wizards and witches of Muggle birth will be subject to approval by the Ministry of Magic. Muggle-born business owners must relinquish the keys to their property and the business to the Ministry of Magic for inspection.'**

James felt so sick he couldn't read on, the Ministry was forcing muggle-borns to register? That's was barbaric, that was sick. The heaving sensation in his stomach told him that he was about to vomit. Taking in a sharp intake of breath, he managed to calm his stomach but the feeling still hung in his throat.

"When was this?" he managed to choke.

"T-t-today." She replied and her voice cracked. Forgetting his feelings, he span her chair around so she was facing him and wrapped her up in his arms, her head pressed into his shoulder.

"All I want to do is be able to go to work, and I want to have a job, I just want to be able to go home and moan about how I hate my job and pretend to look for another but never actually bother, I want to come home tired and when you ask me what's the matter, I can say work. Why can't they let me have a job?" she rambled into James shoulder, the tears falling thick and fast. There was nothing he could say to soothe her; he could just hold her while she cried. Then an odd thought struck him.

"What about the Auror academy?" he asked, bringing her out of his embrace holding her at arm's length, her eyes were blotchy and red and she looked completely confused. She didn't have a foggiest what he was talking about. "The Auror Academy." He repeated. "My dad's high up, if you wanted he could get you in." James added with a grin, although Lily looked unsure.

"I want a job from my own merit James, I want to be able to look back at myself in a decade's time and say, yeah I did well. As much as I'm grateful for the offer, I can't just take a job because your dad is one of the leading officials in the department." Lily confessed, her pride not allowing herself to take advantage of someone else's position, if she was going to get a job – which was looking highly unlikely – she wanted it from her own merit.

"Well then apply yourself, that Head Girl Mary got in, and she's muggle born!" James countered, his eyes wild with excitement.

"Yes but James, the Aurors is your dream not mine. Plus, the Auror Department is still within the Ministry, I'll have to register, and that is something I have no intention of doing." Her stubborn streak showing its head once again. James smiled, Lily had fight in her, and there was no way the Ministry was going to make a fool of Lily Evans.

"Good girl." James laughed, pulling Lily close and pressing a light kiss to her temple, but unexpectedly Lily pulled away sharply.

"Don't good girl me, I'm not a dog." She smirked.

"No, that's Sirius." James replied with a straight face. Lily burst out laughing, her hand over her mouth to try and render the giggles incapable of leaving her mouth but failing miserably. James began to laugh, her laugh was infectious – when Lily laughed, so did everyone around her, it was one of the qualities that had first attracted James to the fiery red head who insisted on hexing him every time he tried to speak to her.

They laughed until their sides hurt and their eyes were streaming, this time not tears off sadness but instead laughter.

The well-read copy of the Daily Prophet was pushed from the desk as Lily threw her arms out as she laughed, and landed in the waste paper bin beside her desk. Lily didn't notice, but James did, and he was never more glad for Lily's giggles; that pathetic article was right where it belonged, the bin.

The Aurors, alerted by Edward Potter, swarmed the McKinnon family home. The house itself was relatively untouched, there were footprints in what looked like mud along the cream carpet on the stairs and a few scratch marks in the wallpaper but aside from that, the home seemed untouched. However the annex, hidden in the attic was a completely different story. In the grand scheme of annexes, this was huge – the annex was more like a large flat; it held a spacious bedroom, bathroom and an open plan kitchen-dining area, but the place no longer resembled its former glory.

The place looked like it had been ransacked, drawers were strewn across the floor and papers covered the floor like a white and black carpet. Black burn marks covered across the walls as if someone had used an incendio curse to try and burn the place down but had been unsuccessful, the windows were smashed open and signs of a scuffle were evident across the whole place.

Marlene hadn't said a word since she had arrived at the Potter household, she had sat virtually motionless in front their fire, watching the flames dance around the hearth. Edward and Sarah had called in the Aurors, mainly concerned for Marlene's safety; this was the second threat on her life in only a few months, but they couldn't ignore Marlene's rain soaked confession as she stood on their doorstep. Marlene was now safe at the Auror headquarters with Sarah and a handful of other others whilst Edward and a group searched the McKinnon family home.

"It seems they were looking for something." Quentin Robards explained, but the head of the Auror office looked pained. Quentin Robards had hoped he wouldn't be back in the McKinnon home for a very long time, he certainly did not think he would be back in their home just four short months after their deaths, investigating an attempt on their daughter's life. "We don't know if they found anything though, but I need to get Marlene in here to check properly, account for anything stolen." He added, Edward nodded somewhat numbly. The Potter's cared for Marlene deeply, her parents had been some of their closest friends as well as colleagues and Marlene was like niece to them, she always had been, and to think someone had been willing to kill her, just months after her parents made Edward's blood boil.

"Sir – I found blood." A young woman said as she slipped her head around the door from the bedroom. The woman's short brown hair was scooped up into a loose bun, several of the caramel coloured strands hung loose, curling slightly as they fell. Her mahogany eyes seemed dull – Edward had only ever seen them full of glitter. She looked sombre – a considerable chunk of the office had been called out to the McKinnon family home and they'd all been hoping that Marlene was concussed and she'd been mistaken about her actions but it seemed she may not have been… The young woman, who Edward knew as Mary Macdonald - she'd passed through the office's new quicker and more intense programme and become a fully-fledged Auror in six months as opposed to three years as had been before - ushered them through the doorway. Edward had known Mary vaguely before she started as an Auror, she'd been two years ahead of James at Hogwarts but they had seemed friendly. That was until the Gryffindor student had earned the Head Girl badge, and James had steered well clear – for obvious reasons – nevertheless, Edward seemed to have a soft spot for her.

Edward Potter and Quentin Robards crossed the living room and entered the bedroom. If the living area seemed trashed, this was worse. The bedroom seemed to be where the majority of the fighting had happened. The bed was broken in half, by what was looking like a slashing hex, the curtains were ripped and the carpet looked to have been on fire from the black scorch marks and the soot coating the ceiling. Parts of the walls looked to have been hit by jinxes or hexes which had been dodged by the occupants of the room and had hit the walls. The paint had been stripped and the brickwork underneath was crumbling. Brick dust covered the red carpet around the areas where the brickwork was exposed and the wardrobe doors were hanging from its hinges at an awkward angle. The chest of drawers had toppled over, the drawers had flown out and had scattered their contents all over the floor. The far end of the room was littered with splashes of blood; the drops, ranging in size, were splattered across the walls and the carpet, it looked as if someone had been hit with a curse and had flailed around, splashing blood over the area surrounding them. Either a lot of people had been injured or one person had been inured severely, Edward concluded from the amount of blood. The problem was Marlene hadn't given any more details on her attackers; the Aurors had no idea whether there was one assailant, or 10… Quentin Robards seemed to have reached the same conclusion as Edward had just a moment previously.

"Agrippa, no one could have survived that amount of blood loss… _but_ if Marlene killed someone where's the body?" Robards questioned, Edward wondered if he had meant to say that out loud.

"Sir, if I may?" Macdonald interrupted, Robards motioned for her to continue, half listening and half lost in his own thoughts. "Maybe it wasn't the Death Eaters who came here to find something. Maybe it was burglars that didn't expect Marlene to be here and they were surprised that she was. They were startled and Marlene managed to get a good shot at them before they realised she was there. A scuffle ensued, Marlene got a good shot or something and caused some damage, then the burglars took off to avoid detection, the blood came from one of them who had smashed the window to get in. We have no proof it was death eaters, there was no dark mark conjured either here or in a five mile radius – in addition the broken window, why would wizards break the window, the defences on the building are virtually non-existent, why didn't they just apparate in? Could it not have been burglars?" Mary finished, her tone hopeful, she seemed she'd done a lot of thinking over the scenario. Marlene and Mary had got along well at school, despite being in different years and houses, Mary in Gryffindor and Marlene in Ravenclaw, but that didn't seem to bother them. As Prefects the two had struck quite a bond, they hadn't really kept in contact since Hogwarts but it devastated Mary to think of Marlene being attacked for the second time in only a few months. Quentin Robards nodded.

"It seems plausible about the window, that's been troubling me too. However that scenario does not explain how Marlene herself got absolutely covered in blood that is not hers, why she said they were Death Eaters and why she think she killed someone…" he trailed off. The three Aurors fell silent, no-one spoke; they just stood there in silence, the head of department's words washing over them.

"Sir!" came a man's shout from back out in the living area, Robards face twisted into one of frustration.

"Yes?" Robards snapped, his eyes surveying the blood splattered walls again.

"I really think you need to see this…"

"Brought you a coffee McKinnon, thought you could use it." a male voice spoke only a few steps from her. Marlene looked up to be greeted with the smiling face of Kingsley Shacklebolt, his voice deep and reassuring. Marlene took the cup from his hands and placed it on the small table beside her chair but she couldn't utter a reply. Her breath caught in her throat, she tried to speak but her vocal cords were paralysed. She focused on her shoes, she couldn't meet his eyes. Kingsley watched her for a second, unable to process the whirring of thoughts that had surged in his brain; the usually calm and collected Marlene McKinnon was lost for words and he was here acting like a loon and just staring at her. Somewhat awkwardly he knelt in front of her, his large hands resting on her knees. She looked up at the pressure and realised how close he was but she still couldn't form words, all she could manage was a cross between a laugh and a sob. She held her head in her hands.

"Hey, sssh." Kingsley soothed, tangling his hand in the hair on the back of her head and pulling her into his shoulder, she relaxed into him and let out a strangled sob as he held her close. Tears fell from her eyes and left a damp patch on his crisp white shirt but he seemed unconcerned as he held Marlene close to him. She pulled away a moment later; her eyes puffy and bloodshot. Her blonde hair was still tinged with red, although her cuts had been healed and documented for further evidence. She'd been stripped of her clothing and had been dressed in a pair of Sarah's black tracksuit bottoms and one of Edward's blue Quidditch t-shirts, her clothes now sealed in clear plastic bags as evidence.

"A-a-am I going to Azkaban?" Marlene stuttered unable to meet Kingsley's eyes again, what would he think of her now? He'd only ever seen her at her best and yet here she was, at one of her lowest with only him for company. The fear of Azkaban had been playing on her mind all night, she had killed someone – the punishment for causing someone else's death was a lifetime in Azkaban… the thought of the wizard prison made her blood run cold, like ice in her veins.

"I don't know… it depends what the Aurors find." Kingsley replied, unable to meet her eyes or look into her face, the fear he saw in them was so painful for him to see.

"Please don't make me go." Marlene sobbed "I just want to go home, why can't I go home?" she choked; tears dropped from her face onto his hands that had settled back on the girls knees. Kingsley kept his eyes on the floor; he daren't look into her face for fear of seeing the strong Marlene McKinnon broken, and him unable to put her back together.

"The Aurors are searching your house Marlene, you can't go back yet." He answered, trying to keep his voice as steady as possible but as she fell part in front of him, he couldn't help but look into her face. She looked lost, lost and broken, there was no sparkle behind her green eyes, they looked dead. Her lip quivered as her hands gripped his.

"Please don't leave me." She begged, her hands gripping his so tightly he thought she'd never let go.

"Never." Kingsley smiled, the corners of her mouth twitched slightly, but her face seemed unable to form a smile any more, it was something that she hadn't done in months, almost like her body had forgotten how to smile. He wanted to reassure her, that everything would be okay, but he couldn't; the world was uncertain, for Marlene especially. Kingsley knew Marlene didn't have it within herself to kill someone, whether it had been in self-defence or not, she must have been mistaken, because as he watched her, he didn't see the face of someone who had killed someone, he saw the face of someone who was broken and needed fixing. Almost without any thought, he leant in closer to her body and pressed his lips against hers, her lips felt the same as they always had, warm and soft. Despite the faint smell of rain, she smelt of coconut shampoo and the lingering scent of her perfume caught in his nostrils, the flowery scent reminding him of the months they had spent together. He pulled back after only a moment, hoping that Marlene understood his sentiment. Her eyes were still cold, but there was a flicker of something else, it was only faint but there was a flicker nonetheless, and Kingsley thought that was progress.

"Shacklebolt!" a voice called through from the main office into the side room where Marlene had been placed, Kingsley mentally cursed whichever of the Prewett brothers had called him – he had trouble telling them apart from voice alone. He rose from his position in front of her, her hands still gripping his. She looked terrified; her pupils were dilated and her hands were shaking against his.

"I'll be back, I promise." He whispered, pressing his lips against hers once again, her trembling subsided slightly and her fingers released his. He took a deep breath and turned his back to her. He forced his legs to carry him out of the room, hyper aware of her eyes trailing after him as he walked away, leaving her for the second time…

"What do _you_ want to do once we leave school?" Alice asked, nail file in hand as she filed down Hestia's nails. Jessica shrugged from the seat opposite them. The fire roared in the hearth and sent black silhouettes dancing around the walls as the group soaked up its crimson and amber rays, glad for its warmth on the unusually cold April evening.

"Play Quidditch I guess." The blonde mused. "I guess I haven't ever really thought about it…" she returned to her copy of Witch Weekly and idly flicked between the pages, not reading the text, barely scanning at the pictures. Cooped up in their usual seats in front of the fire, the three girls had been sat alone for a fair while, that was until the Marauders and Frank had joined them a while ago and forced Alice to sit on the arm of the sofa to make room for them as she carried on filing and applying varnish her Hestia's nails. Hestia had refused to move for the boisterous boys when they and appeared, minus James. Sirius however found this stubbornness incredibly amusing, especially when he lifted her from her seat squealing like a banshee, so he could steal her seat. He was still laughing when Hestia had settled herself in his lap; at first he was happy with this arrangement, but now a while later the smell of nail varnish was beginning to make him feel sick.

"What about you Hest?" Alice asked, blowing gently on each nail in turn to set the base layer of varnish that she had just applied.

"I don't know, I've always wanted to write, maybe I could work for the Prophet?"

"No." Sirius and Remus replied in unison. Hestia was confused as to why the two of them were staring at her so intently, anger etched into their faces.

"Have you not seen the article they published this morning? The one about muggle borns having to register and employers having to tell the Ministry how many they have working for them? It makes me sick." Sirius spat. Hestia paled, she hadn't seen the article, the girls had all cancelled their subscriptions after the Hogsmeade attack back in the first term and all the articles on attacks on muggle born witches and wizards, they concluded what they didn't know wouldn't hurt them.

"Has Lily seen it?" Jessica asked, her copy of Witch Weekly now discarded.

"Yes." Peter replied matter-of-factly.

"I went into the Prefect room this morning to look at the patrol rota and she was leafing through it, seems like someone left a copy at the breakfast table and she found it. She's been hauled up in their all day now, I sent James in to keep her company but I don't know whether she's told him…" Remus answered, the weariness he was feeling showing in his face. Purple shadows were smudged under his eyes. The group fell silent, an uneasiness settling over them, none of them seemed eager to break the silence, that was until a thought crossed Jessica's mind.

"What about you Remus?" the werewolf looked up, the confusion evident in his eyes. "I mean, will you be able to get a job?" Jessica clarified, if Lily couldn't get a job because of her blood status, it was highly unlikely that Remus would because of his condition.

"Oh. No I won't. There'll be nothing I can do once I leave Hogwarts. I'll just have to make do with what I can get I suppose." The sandy haired Marauder sighed. The group once again fell into silence.

"Well, that doesn't matter. Uncle Alphard left me a truck load of gold, and a great big house in London. I can give you money and you can all come live with me!" Sirius exclaimed. Jessica raised an eyebrow sceptically, but Peter and Frank seemed to think the idea was great.

"And me and Alice can give some of our family gold for bills and stuff – plus we can help out with our wages from the Auror Academy!" Frank laughed, as he and Peter exchanged excited high five's. The rest of the group were staring at Alice disbelievingly, Frank had made it obvious for years that his intention was for the Auror Academy; Alice however had never spoken of the sort.

"The Auror Academy?!" Hestia squeaked. Alice avoided eye contact, her eyes stuck on her lap, Hestia and Jessica staring on in astonishment. Frank suddenly realised that no-one else was talking and was staring at Alice.

"You mean you didn't tell them?" Frank asked from his position seated across the table from her, Hestia, Sirius and Remus. Alice nodded, her attention still focused on her lap.

"I can't believe you didn't tell us!" Jessica exclaimed.

"Well you'd try and force me out of it! I just want to make a difference!" Alice countered, flinging her arms out wide and nearly taking out Hestia's head in the process.

"Sweetie," Hestia soothed, wrapping her arms around Alice's neck, careful not to smudge the still wet nail varnish. "We wouldn't have done that, if that what you want, then we support you. We're proud of you." Alice smiled slightly.

"James would probably try and talk you out of it though, he tries to do that with anyone who wants to go into the Auror Academy – think it's something to do with his parents…" Remus concluded, watching the exchange between the girls with relative amusement. Alice smirked, and Frank relaxed, it seemed Alice had nothing to worry about when she voiced her concerns over her friend's reactions to her career choice.

"Hypocrite." Sirius muttered under his breath, Remus, the only one to notice, breathed a laugh.

"But we can still love in Sirius' house right?" Frank asked, Alice giggled and nodded.

"If you want Honey." She blew him a kiss, Jessica mimed being sick. Hestia shook her head but laughed quietly.

"So what this house like?" she asked, her fringe falling into her eyes, she blew it away and it settled further to the side, with a little help from Alice, who giggled slightly at Hestia trying to manoeuvre her fringe without smudging her wet nails, it settled properly.

"Well, its old, like really old. It's not been lived in since uncle Alphard moved out a few years ago, so it'll need renovating and clearing out, but we have all the time in the world this summer." Hestia pulled a face, but didn't look disapproving. "There's loads of bedrooms too so we can all have one! Plus it's really close to the centre of London, so we could probably walk in, and before you ask, there are loads of shops near for when you want to go and blow all your wages!" Sirius added, but Hestia was already sold.

"Sounds perfect!" she squealed with excitement.

"Plus there's a patch of forest, really thick and everything, just a few miles away. We can apparate there when Moony needs to come out." Sirius added in a low whisper, Remus smiled appreciatively.

"Do James and Lily know yet?" Hestia asked, Sirius nodded.

"He said he'd talk to her about it, although with the news today I don't know whether he did or not." The group seemed to think this was a reasonable ides, as they all mumbled an agreement. Small conversations broke out within the group, which was until Sirius made his announcement.

"Don't you want to know my plans for the future?" when no-one replied he wasn't deterred, he continued. "I plan on spending as much time in bed and getting drunk as often as I can." He announced, a grin breaking out on his handsome features.

"Well that's a surprise!" Peter teased, throwing a cushion at Sirius who caught it easily and threw it back.

"Well, if you don't plan on getting a job, you can be the house husband." Remus scoffed, Sirius pulled a face.

"House husband?!" he exclaimed.

"Yes, you can do all the cooking and all the cleaning." Peter explained his mouth curling into a smirk.

"I'm not eating if you're cooking." Jessica added, once again flicking through her magazine, her eyes settled on the sports pages.

"Well, you won't be living with us." Hestia replied matter-of-factly. Jessica looked hurt, the group fell silent, surely Hestia hadn't just said that to Jess…

"You'll be living in the city that you're playing Quidditch for, stupid!" Jessica visibly sighed with relief, Remus released the breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding. "But if you get bored and want food poisoning, you can come and Sirius will cook for you!" she laughed; Sirius tried to look offended, but couldn't maintain the façade as his mouth pulled into a grin.

"What about you Pete? What do you want to do when we leave school?" Alice asked, applying a layer of pink to Hestia's nails, who smiled appreciatively. Peter looked in thought for a few moments as his friends watched his expectantly.

"I don't know…" he concluded finally. "I could work for the Ministry – but I don't really fancy that." He added, he'd never really gone that far in his thoughts of employment, mainly because he'd refused to admit this was his final year at Hogwarts, leaving the castle was something that he definitely was not looking forward too.

"What about that ice-cream shop in Diagon Alley? Florian Fortescue's? You love ice cream! Why not work there, even if it's only until you find another job?" Jessica offered, Peter's face lit up.

"I'd love that!" he exclaimed, leaning over and high fiving Jessica.

"So, Sirius is going to be a house husband, Hestia wants to write, Jess wants to play Quidditch, James, Alice and Frank want to go into the Auror Academy, Pete wants to sell ice cream and me and Lily are going to be unemployed – sounds like a good mix!" Remus joked, but bitterness crept into his voice but he tried to ignore it and covered it with a smile.

"James wants to be an Auror?" Hestia questioned. Her nails now dry (the magic of quick dry varnish!); she ran her fingers through her hair and adjusted her fringe, something she'd been itching to do since the first coat of polish had gone on.

"Yeah, he has for a while now, he told Lily at Christmas, she wasn't too keen but James is stubborn, he won't change his mind." Sirius answered. Hestia seemed to mull it over and reached the conclusion that James would make a good Auror.

"I think with those Aurors dying in Hogsmeade and Scarlett and Elijah at Christmas, he feels he needs to do something, and he thinks this is the best way." Remus added, the group fell silent at the mention of the growing death toll.

Eventually the group resumed their conversations, the weight of Remus' comment, still weighing on their minds.

"Miss McKinnon?" the authorative voice echoed. "You're free to go." Marlene lifted her head; she struggled to focus on the figure in front of her, eyes still blurry from sleep. Kingsley Shacklebolt, sat in the chair next to Marlene shook his head in disbelief, Marlene was free, no charges were being brought against her. Her eyes were unable to focus after being woken from her sleep but she couldn't mistake the feeling of weight being lifted from her shoulders.

"I-I-I don't understand." Marlene stuttered, her hands trembled as the Head of the Auror department stared down at her, he tried to maintain a straight face but he couldn't hide the twitches that threatened to pull his mouth into a smile, Kingsley noticed, Sarah Potter too, but they remained silent.

"It seems that one of the Death eaters who broke into your house managed to hit the other with his jinx, pretty silly mistake if you ask me. He managed to hit his partner, _Graham Nott_, with a particular nasty jinx that managed to slash repeatedly right through his skin. That is where all the blood came from. In the midst of the struggle, you assumed you'd hit him with the spell and that you'd caused the damage yourself. You tried to help him, that's why you covered yourself in blood." Robards explained. Marlene looked on astonished, so she hadn't killed someone, he was live and she hadn't been the one to hit with the hex. Edward Potter stood at Robards right shoulder, a grin across his face.

"We found Nott's wand in your kitchen, it seemed he dropped it as they fled once you managed to apparate out." Edward added.

"It seems, they apparated in, broke a window to make it look like a burglary, should the carnage be discovered. Then they turned over your apartment, trying to find any of your parent's old Auror files. Although they were mistaken – they were all removed months ago for safety." Edward Potter explained. "Nott handed himself in at St. Mungo's a few hours ago. Seemed he required medical attention, and with a drop of veritaserum in his medication, he spilled the entire story to the Prewett Brothers. They arrested him once he was well enough and he's on the way to Azkaban as we speak. It seems though that someone oblivated him before we could get to him, he has no recollection of who his partner was or the names of any other death eaters, it seems though that they forgot the most current memory – the attack on you – and he recounted everything to our Aurors." Marlene exhaled with relief, so she hadn't killed someone, she wasn't going to Azkaban. Kingsley shook Edward Potter and Quentin Robards' hand as they left; leaving a release form for Marlene to sign, the pair found themselves alone. Marlene rose from her seat, pins and needles shooting through her legs; she ran her fingers through her shoulder length blonde hair, not quite believing that she could actually leave and go home. Kingsley seemed to understand Marlene's train of thought.

"I don't want you going back to that house." He said into the silence, the only noise was the muffled tones of quiet speech outside in the Auror office. Marlene exhaled, her chest tightening.

"But it's my home, I have to go back." She answered simply. A heavy hand rested on her shoulder, she could imagine the expression he was pulling, she knew him well enough to picture the confusion he was feeling whilst looking at her.

"Marlene." she wasn't expecting the sharp tone that cut through the silent air, he was warning her. "You have survived two attacks on your life in that house, I am not letting you stay in there, even if I have to drag you out myself, you are not staying there." She turned to face him, anger was playing through his coal coloured eyes but he was holding it in.

"But that is _my_ home, it always has been." She hissed back.

"That house holds too many memories; it's preventing you from moving on. And it's putting you in danger; the defences are virtually non-existent… The death eaters will be coming after you even harder now. You've survived two attacks, you might not be lucky enough to survive a third." His usual calm exterior was beginning to fall apart, he didn't know what it was about her, but she got under his skin, she knew just how to provoke him into an argument.

"I don't need you to lecture me _Shacklebolt."_

"So we're back to last names are we, _McKinnon."_

"Isn't that what you want? You made that very clear in the summer." She recoiled from him and he felt as if she'd just punched him in the stomach. The churning sensation that swirled around his stomach made him feel violently sick, the mention of the summer manufacturing a nauseous feeling which made his head spin. "Goodbye Shacklebolt, have a nice life." She snarled, and with that, she turned on her heel and stormed out into the office, the door slamming behind her.

Kingsley winced as the door banged shut, only for it to be opened a moment later.

"Nice one Shacklebolt." The smirking face of Gideon Prewett rounded the doorway. If looks could Kill, Gideon would be stone cold dead on the floor by the look Kingsley sent him, but after a brief moment Kingsley's anger subsided – Gideon had done nothing wrong, he didn't deserve treatment like that, he was a nice guy. Exhaling slowly through his nose, Kingsley ran his hand over his head; the feeling of his own skin was somewhat soothing.

"How much of that did you hear?" he asked, meeting the twinkling blue eyes of Gideon, who had by this point moved inside the door way and leant against its frame with his left side.

"Enough." He answered shortly, his face devoid of emotion.

"Great." Kingsley sighed, he'd managed to keep him and Marlene a secret for so long, he'd kept his composure and it had remained their secret, the one time he lost his temper – their cover was blown.

"I didn't know the two of you were an item?" Gideon pressed, sensing his colleague was not going to add any more to the conversation. He raised an eyebrow with intrigue, but Kingsley didn't notice, he was staring at the wall, Gideon could almost hear the gears inside his brain moving, as if working out the best course of action.

"Not anymore. I ended it last summer, it didn't end too well." Kingsley tried to smile, but his lips wouldn't form one, the empty laugh that followed was more pitiful than the expression crossing his features.

"To me it just seemed like she didn't want to be told what to do, she'd headstrong that one." The red headed wizard sighed, his cropped red hair seemed aglow under the bright light, his blue eyes sparkling, the way they always did when he found out something new.

"You're telling me… I don't know what she wants, one minute she wants me to look after her and to not leave her, then the next she doesn't want me anywhere near her. I just don't have a clue what she wants." Kingsley shook his head as he flopped down onto the chair that he'd been sat on only minutes previously, Marlene's sleepy head, pressed against his arm, her hand gently resting onto his knee.

"I don't think she knows what she wants King, she's all confused, she's had a hell of a couple of months. If she wants you, she'll come back." He offered, unsure if Kingsley had actually heard him or not.

"She won't come back."

"She might do." Gideon tried to comfort, but he knew his attempts were futile.

"She won't, I know it. I was the one who ended it, not her, and she hasn't come back to me yet, so I highly doubt she will now." Kingsley motioned with his hand that, that was the end of the discussion. Gideon shook his head lightly and left the brooding Auror to his thoughts, quietly shutting the door behind him; it shut with a faint click. Gideon strode back into the office with his usual confident exterior, trying to piece together a cover story if anyone asked where Shacklebolt was.

"Prewett!" came a shout from across the office, Gideon who had just made it to his booth, continued to where the shout had come from. Mad-eye Moody was stood at the end of the row of booths, Sarah and Edward Potter at his side and a very frustrated looking Marlene. Edward was wringing his hands somewhat nervously but Sarah remained firm, Marlene looked as if she was about to throttle someone.

"Now shush girl. This is Gideon Prewett; he's been assigned as your protection detail. Moan again and I'll throw you in a cell for the night." The decorated Auror scolded. Gideon stared on bemused, not quite taking in what the deputy head of the office had actually said until a moment later.

"What?" he asked, although he had heard perfectly clear the first time – the information had just not entered his brain.

"You are to escort Miss McKinnon here to the Potter household; she will be staying there from now on. She is forbidden to return to her own house unless she escorted by you and the Potter's and only to recover personal items. Is that clear?" Moody instructed, Gideon nodded. Marlene tried to protest again but Sarah Potter covered her mouth.

"No more protests, let someone look after you Marlene." The older witch chided. The younger relaxed slightly, her shoulders sagged and the fire in her eyes subsided. Marlene nodded and Sarah removed her hand. Edward nodded, and motioned for the group to follow him towards the glowing fireplace, Sarah and Marlene went ahead, Edward caught Gideon's arm.

"Do not let her out of your sight." He warned quietly, Gideon took the note on board as they turned back to Sarah and Marlene.

"We'll floo into our library." Sarah explained, taking a handful of powder from the holder on the mantel piece. She stepped into the grate, clearly stated her destination and dropped the powder, a green flame burst around her and Sarah was gone. Edward went next, and then Marlene and Gideon, the latter holding tightly onto the formers hand, Edward's warning ringing in his ears.

**Authors note: Woah! That seemed to take me ages to do but I'm glad I did! The scene with Sirius asking everyone to come and live with him has been playing on my mind for a while now, and gives you a little glimpse into what the sequel to this might hold… **

**Anyway, I hope you liked the longer update, I've been putting up shorter chapters recently and I've not been quite happy with them, but I've wanted to get them up for you because I hate keeping you waiting, but this time I decided I needed to take my mind and just write what I wanted to write, so I hope you like it! And please forgive me for my rambling sentences, I know I'm rubbish with commas, I always overuse them!**

**I'm not sure why I decided to put Marlene and Kingsley together, there was a throwaway comment I made earlier in the fic and decided to run with it, and I'm quite happy with the results! Sorry for the essay, so I'll leave you now – remember to review!**

**PS no new rewritten chapters because I've not had time to do them, but I'll try and get some done for the next update!**


	40. Remember?

**Authors note: I've finally arranged my plan for the story into chapters (rather than just knowing what is coming next), I have decided there will be 50 chapters for this fic. Then, hopefully, I will be able to put up the first chapter of the sequel at the same time as the last chapter for this. I've actually been putting off writing this chapter for a while now because I just don't really want to finish writing it, fair enough I'll be writing the sequel but it won't quite be the same… anyway, on with this!**

**PS if you have any ideas for the sequel let me know! I haven't started planning that out properly yet so any ideas are welcome! **

**PPS (last one I promise!) I was reading up on Pottermore and it states there that the Marauder's map was confiscated sometime during their seventh year, or in other words sometime during this fic. I'd always been under the impression it was during their sixth year but it looks like I was mistaken, now there is a significant absence of the map in this fic because of this misunderstanding, you will just have to think up your own way they got it confiscated, maybe a late night trip to the kitchens? Or prank planning? Anyway, it's up to you, I may be able to get a reference to the map into this chapter or another, but I can't promise! Anyway, happy reading!**

_**Recap: James and Lily sit in the Head offices, James sorting the Quidditch schedule, Lily the Prefect, James wants to talk about the future – Lily reveals a copy of the Daily Prophet that includes an article on legislation to discriminate against muggle born witches and wizards, it will make it virtually impossible for her to get a job and work, she is devastated. James consoles her and they end up laughing. Meanwhile, in the common room, the whole gang reveal their plans for the future, Sirius tells them of his Uncle's house that was left to him in his will, they can all move in and live with him, and some are keener than others. **_

_**Marlene is taken to the Auror headquarters but not formally arrested, the Aurors search her flat and find a lot of blood, at first this throws suspicion on Marlene, but after they find a stray wand in the kitchen, they are able to deduce who broke into the flat to look for Ministry papers held by Scarlett and Elijah McKinnon before their death. The culprit is found but has been oblivated so has no memory of the event. Marlene and Kingsley seem to get along fine but it ends up blowing up in his face and she storms out before being ordered to stay with the Potter's until a suitable place can be found for her. **_

"James, I'm bored!" Lily exclaimed, slamming the broom closet closed. As she turned to face the Head Boy she noticed his arms were crossed in front of his chest and his face was contorted into an amused smirk. "What?!" she questioned, suddenly aware of the way his eyes were studying her so intently.

"You're always bored on rounds!" he laughed, throwing his arms back dramatically.

"But they're _boring_!" she sighed, pouting. "There is no-one out tonight, it's a _Wednesday_ for goodness sake! And everyone is either asleep or in their dorms studying for exams, and _we're_ out checking broom closets for people snogging and people taking late night strolls around the castle! There's no-one here, can we just go?" she argued, another small laugh escaped James' lips.

"That's not very prefectly of you now Head Girl, is it?" James teased, taking Lily's hand and pressing a kiss to her fingers. Lily tried not to smile, but it was almost impossible to not around James. She opened her mouth to retort that she was no longer a prefect, but James' response was quicker than her own. "So where would you suggest we go? We can't go back to our dorms yet." Still holding her hand tightly, they began to slowly stroll down the corridor, virtually certain they were the only students away from their dormitories tonight. Lily bit her lip as she thought, then it was almost as if a light bulb flashed above her head, her eyes seemed brighter, and a somewhat manic smile crossed her features.

"The Astronomy tower!" she declared, James was taken aback for moment.

"The Astronomy tower?" he questioned, Lily nodded proudly. "and what do you want to do in the astronomy tower?" he asked suggestively, pulling Lily closer to him and planting a feather light kisses on the sensitive skin just behind her ear, the contact causing fireworks to shoot around her brain.

"Not _that_." She teased, pushing him away from her, her grin widening. "Another time." She promised.

"Shame. That's what most people do up there. " James replied, his tone equally teasing. "So what _do_ you want to do in the Astronomy tower?" he asked, this time genuinely curious.

"I want to see the stars." She breathed.

"Well come on then!" he laughed, grabbing her hand and tugging her down the corridor. Her hair billowed out behind them as they ran, their feet slapping the stone floor; luckily they ran into no ghosts who would chide them for running in the corridors and quickly ascended the narrow staircase to the Astronomy tower with relative ease, slightly breathless and dishevelled from their sprint.

A cool breeze ruffled James' already unruly hair, Lily smiled slightly, although James didn't notice, leaning heavily on the reinforced barrier of the Astronomy Tower, his mind began to wander. His thoughts wandered back to their conversation in the Heads Office a few nights ago, and the subsequent conversation that Sirius had started in the common room. Their futures, it was all so close, everything was happening so fast, their time at Hogwarts would soon be over and they'd have to fend for themselves out in the big wide world, little fish in a very big pond. Soon everything would be completely different, he had no idea what the future would hold. As the thoughts milled around his brain the only constant was the beautiful red headed witch that stood at his side.

"What's up?" Lily asked, the soft tone of her voice pulled him from his thoughts and drew his attention to her face. She was relaxed, her shoulders had sagged and she'd shed her robes, leaving her only in her shirt and cardigan, despite the cool breeze the temperature was still warm, warm enough to shed the heavy material of her school robes. James tore his eyes from her and back up to the stars, twinkling diamonds against an ebony sky.

"Stuff, the future." He replied, Lily sighed.

"Ah." She replied, the future wasn't her favourite subject right now; everything that she had ever wanted seemed to be just out of her grasp, every time she got close someone would move the finish line and she'd be set back yet again, it seemed her blood status meant more to the Ministry than it did to her. James inwardly cursed himself for bringing up the topic the way he had, he hadn't meant jobs, he knew that was a sore subject for Lily, and it was unlikely she'd get one, but what he meant was their future, their future together, what would it hold? Would they be the same once they left school? Would they be able to cope with all stresses that life outside of school would bring? He was sure they could, but there was still a nagging at the back of his brain that told him he'd lose everything he loved, everything he'd worked for would be taken for him, he'd lose _her_. He'd tried to silence his fears, but the doubt they created still lingered, a fog swirling around his brain.

"Do you think you can really tell the future from the stars?" Lily asked, breaking the silence. James took a moment to reply, quite unsure of the answer.

"I don't know, Centaurs can apparently… Then again, dad says their just making things up, you can never get a straight answer from a centaur, so all that philosophical mumbo jumbo that they spout might all just be drivel. Not a word of truth in it." James answered, Lily chuckled quietly.

"It would make it easier if you could though, wouldn't it? If you could just look up to the sky and see your whole life planned out for you, like a big map." She sighed James knew the new legislation was weighing on her mind again, despite all efforts by her friends and him; they couldn't quite banish the feeling of rejection that the prejudice brought.

"Well, I think I _might _be able to read them." James declared, Lily turned to face him just in time to catch his knowing grin as it morphed into a look of intense concentration, although Lily noticed that his lips were clamped tightly shut, as if to supress a laugh that was just dying to escape.

"Oh yeah?" Lily questioned, a small laugh escaping from her throat. "Go on then, read my future!" she dared.

"I will do then! Well, that clump of stars there," he said, pointing to a random section of the sky, Lily grinned and nodded, still slightly of what James would come up with, she'd seen his divination predictions in fourth year, if it turned out like that she'd be eaten by hippogriff, lose her family money and get married all on the fourth Wednesday of July, she'd know he was definitely just making all this up. "Well that bit, that shows that you're going to do amazing in all your NEWTs and you're going to get all outstandings and have a great finish to your Hogwarts education."

"Really?" she asked sarcastically "and what does that bunch there mean?" she teased, pointing to a section of sky to the left of their eye line.

"Hmm," James mused "that bit means you're going to marry your gorgeous boyfriend and be incredibly happy. That bit there, just next to it," he added pointing just to the right of the second section. "That bit means you're going to have lots of babies and they're going to have your eyes and your freckles and my insane quidditch skills. And then that bit right over there," he added, pointing in the complete opposite side of the sky, "Means that whatever you do you're going to be happy." He finished. He didn't dare look at Lily's face, he'd just told her he wanted to marry her and was quite unsure what her reaction might be, of course they'd said they'd be _together forever_ and that they were completely in love, but doubt was accumulating and beginning cloud his judgement, not only with Lily, but in all aspects of his life, he was doubting his intelligence, his leadership, his Quidditch skills, he put it down to the stresses of NEWTs, as to not dwell more on the haze that was clouding in his brain. But when James turned to see Lily, he couldn't be more pleased with what he saw: her green eyes were brimming with tears and her mouth curved into a grin so wide he could see all of her pearly white teeth, gleaming back at him in the dim light, he couldn't help but grin back.

"You want to marry me?" she asked, her voice trembled slightly.

"Of course I do." He breathed, his hand stroking the side of her face, delicately pushing a stray curl behind her ear, he planted a single kiss on her lips, lingering for a second before pulling away. "Of course I want to marry you, it's all I've wanted since I was eleven years old. I was eleven years old when I said I wanted to make you Lily Potter and I still do. That's all I've ever wanted." He replied. Lily pressed her lips against James' once again, her mouth smiling against his.

"I want that too. I want to be Mrs Potter." She grinned, and James felt like his chest was about to burst, Lily wanted to marry him! The murkiness that was clouding his brain cleared and he felt the need to kiss her overpower every other thought from forming in his brain. Hungrily, James' lips covered hers, he tried to pour all the gratitude and elation he was feeling into the kiss but he wasn't sure he could quite do his emotions justice.

"I love you." He breathed her against her lips, his hands cupping her face. She sighed contentedly against him, her hands wrapped around his neck, her fingers idly threading the ends of his hair between her fingers. They broke apart breathless, both beaming madly, it was only then that Lily's grin transformed into a cheeky smirk. James raised an eyebrow, quite unsure what had just entered Lily's brain.

"If that's a proposal, it was frankly rubbish." She teased. James feigned shock, causing Lily to laugh out loud.

"That wasn't my proposal love, if it was, it would be much flashier and there'd be a glittering ring." James replied, joining in with Lily's laughter. For a few moments, they just stood there, the echoes of their laughs still played across their faces and their eyes focused solely on each other. After a few moments, Lily diverted her attention back to the stars, her grin still firmly set in place. James' attention too returned to the sky, her arms slung loosely around her waist.

"Do you remember the first time you asked me out?" Lily asked, James was rendered temporarily speechless by the oddness of Lily's question.

"Erm yes…" James replied, embarrassment spread through his body at the memory. Lily smirked.

"I nearly said yes you know?" she asked, James shook his head.

"I knew it." he grinned

"_Hey Evans! Go out with me?" James shouted from further down the Gryffindor table, his raven coloured hair stuck up at odd angles as he threw her a wonky grin. The boy to his left, Lily wasn't sure of his name but she'd seen him with James on the train, slapped his forehead in disbelief, the small boy across the table tried to hide his giggle in his pumpkin juice, but was unable to hide his shaking shoulders and insane grin. Lily felt her face flush scarlet; Hestia elbowed her hard in the ribs. _

"_You should say yes, he's cute!" she hissed, her blue eyes twinkling. Lily had met the curly haired witch on the train yesterday and they'd instantly become friends, there was something that drew Lily in, she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was but there was a magnetic pull towards the witch that sat at her side. Jessica and Alice, her new dorm mates, giggled from across the table; the other two witches seemed to be inseparable already. _

"_But he was horrible to Sev…" Lily whispered in reply, Hestia rolled her eyes. _

"_Sooo?" she elongated "he's cute!" Lily felt her stubborn streak arise; she was determined to do the opposite of what her new friend was urging her to do, but then again, James did have rather beautiful eyes… _

_Eyes that were watching her with a degree of uncertainty as well as amusement. The boy on his left didn't meet her eye, but was instead pulling faces at a pretty brown haired witch across the hall, seated at the Slytherin table. Lily felt her eyes travel across the table which seated the whole of Slytherin house; her green eyes trailed down the table until were met with the cold black eyes of Severus Snape. His look was firm, he knew what was going through her brain, his look was daring, daring her to go against him and say yes to Potter… He was daring her to choose Potter over him… A slightly raised eyebrow from her friend seated across the hall sealed her decision. _

"_No way Potter, why would I ever want to go out with you?" She snorted. James' arrogant façade wavered slightly, the hurt evident in his eyes, and to her surprise Lily felt insanely guilty, but as soon as the hurt had appeared in his eyes, it had disappeared, veiled by more arrogance. _

"_Pfft, forget you Evans." He scoffed, shrugging off her comment, although he couldn't deny the hurt that she'd noticed in the eye of the eleven year old boy who sat down the table from her. _

"_I cannot believe you…" Hestia drawled, "Come on lets go, me and you need to have a serious talk about boys!" Hestia chided with a grin, waggling her finger in Lily's direction, this time it was the red headed witch's turn to roll her eyes, but her mouth was curved into an easy smile. Rising from the table, Lily and her three new friends left the hall and made for the Gryffindor common room, ascending the stairs to their dormitory, unaware of the smirk crossing the face of the greasy haired Slytherin boy as he shot James Potter a look of triumph, this was to be the first of many victories he was sure and he was determined to savour every moment of it. _

"_Are you crazy Potter?!" Sirius Black demanded, as soon as Lily and her friends were out of earshot. James laughed lightly at his question and shook his head; Peter took another bite from bread roll and leant further across the table to hear James' reply. _

"_She's lovely, don't you think?" James chortled, Sirius was unsure whether he was attempting to be sarcastic or not._

"_Lovely?! It's only our second day at Hogwarts and you're already hitting on her, I think you've got a death wish!" Sirius snorted in reply, and then he turned to a lone Gryffindor first year sat a few spaces down from the three of them. "Hey Lupin, what do you think of Evans?" _

_The boy, already fairly tall in stature with sandy blonde hair, looked up at the mention of his name. For a moment his crystal blue eyes looked thrilled at the sound of his name, but then terrified, James wondered why, but his train of thought was cut off by the boy's tentative voice. _

"_Err," Lupin stuttered "I don't know, I don't really know her…" he trailed off, Sirius nodded. _

"_Precisely! You don't even know her Potter!" Sirius agreed. "I like you Lupin, come sit with us." He added as an afterthought, gesturing for the other Gryffindor boy to join the three of them. "Bring Longbottom too, he needs some friends his own age, if he keeps sucking up to Macdonald he'll end up with a brown face." Peter spluttered pumpkin juice over the table as a restrained laugh escaped, James was torn between looking absolutely disgusted and immensely entertained, his inner conflict revealed through his furrowed eyebrows and smirking grin. Remus and Frank, who was sat with a few third year students a few spaces down, tentatively joined the other three boys, not quite knowing how to react to the other three's already blossoming friendship. _

"_Longbottom, you agree don't you? James is ludicrous asking Evans out already? Right?" Sirius blurted, as soon as the boys had sat down. _

"_Well I dunno, if he likes her I guess -" Frank replied, but was promptly cut off by Sirius. _

"_That's a load of hippogriff dung – even I haven't asked a girl out yet! __**And**__ she turned you down." Sirius concluded. James shook his head, then flashed the two new companions a cheeky grin. _

"_I'm going to marry her someday." He stated, as if the matter was already set in stone. _

"_What?!" Peter spluttered, pumpkin juice covering the table for a second time. _

"_Scourgify." Remus muttered coolly and with a tap of his wand the juice vanished and the table was clean. _

"_Whoa! That's so cool, you can already do magic?!" Peter exclaimed Remus blushed lightly and nodded; he opened his mouth to reply but was once again cut off by Sirius. _

"_Yeah, it's amazing that Lupin is a genius, but did you all just hear Potter announce that he's going to marry Evans?!" Sirius declared, his pitch ascending as he spoke. The four boys all turned to face James with an air of confusion, and in Frank's case, controlled amusement. _

"_That's right. Someday I'm going to marry Evans." He shrugged, taking another bite out of his bread roll. _

"_And how do you plan on doing that, she just turned you down mate…" Peter asked. _

"_I'm a Potter; we always get what we want." _

"I knew it! I knew you wanted me!" James teased, flicking Lily's nose. She frowned and furrowed her eyebrows.

"No you didn't you're just making that up!" she argued, her mouth curving into a grin.

"I'm not! I knew you wanted me, everyone always does." James shrugged; she shook her head a small laugh escaped from between her lips. "What? What's so funny?!" James urged, Lily now burst out into fits of giggles.

"You!" she answered in between breaths "You're what's so funny! You were such an arrogant little thing! _Still are._" she added, another smirk unfurling on her lips.

"I resent that." He answered, pressing a kiss to Lily's temple.

"What? You were!"

"_Ahhmmppphh." Severus exclaimed as he landed with a thump, flat on his face in the middle of a crowded Charms corridor. His robes in disarray and his books scattered around the floor, he pulled himself to his feet, thoroughly mortified. Lily held out a hand to help pull him to his feet but he purposely ignored it, he needed no-one's help… Lily retracted her hand after only a second when it was evident that he would not take her help, he was stubborn like that. Instead she turned her attention to the three boys stood at the end of the corridor, doubled over in hysterics, a fourth stood behind them, his head held on the palm of his hand, shaking from side to side. _

"_What the hell do you think you're playing at Potter?!" the girl accused, storming down the corridor with her red hair billowing around her face and her emerald eyes full of anger, she was positively terrifying. "You know we're not allowed to do magic in the corridors, and we're not allowed to use it against other students! I know you used a tripping hex on Severus, I saw you!" she exclaimed, a finger pointing intimidatingly at his chest. The three had now recovered from the majority of their cackles, but stray giggles were still escaping from their mouths, although it seemed some of the other students hadn't overcome theirs: a group of fifth year Ravenclaw's snickered silently into the doorway of their classroom, a fellow Slytherin third year cackled out loud, the only student not laughing it seemed was Lily. _

"_Oh come off it Evans, it was just a harmless hex." Sirius brushed off. _

"_Harmless hex? You made him trip!" she accused. "How is it harmless? You tripped him!"_

"_Pfft Evans, it's just a bit of fun." James scoffed "just a bit of banter between fellow students!" it was only after he'd retorted his reply, did James see Lily's wand…_

_The other three Marauders had already backed away, knowing what their fellow third year was capable of. James, it seemed wasn't as scared of the red head as the others, he stood in front of her, his arms crossed in front of his chest, a daring look crossing his features. With a muttered incantation, a flick of her wand and a devilish smirk on her part, he knew he was in for trouble. James' scalp burned with heat like it was on fire, but the pain only lasted a fraction of a second – clutching desperately at his at his mop of untidy hair, he realised it was much longer than it should have been… in fact, it seemed to be growing longer at his touch, as if to prove his point, his hair now skimmed his eyelashes and continued descending down his face, and it wasn't its usual raven colour either… his hair was a lime green, fluorescent, the complete antithesis of his natural colour._

_It was then that James did something that Lily had not been expecting, he laughed. It wasn't just a small giggle or chuckle, it was a deep belly laugh, the kind that you only get every now and again, when something is just so hilarious that you can't contain the laugh, the kind of laugh that makes your sides hurt and you worry they might actually split open. Lily stared at him, completely perplexed as to what could be causing James to laugh so much, she couldn't even see his expression, his whole face was covered by a wall of lime green locks that had now nearly reached his waist. He had nearly doubled over with laughter and was clutching his knees for support. The other students inhabiting the corridor stared on bemused, some holding their breath, what on earth was so funny? James Potter had just been hexed by Lily Evans, what on earth was so funny about that? Sirius didn't quite know what to make of the situation; his grey eyes were flicking between Lily and the cackling James with a look of confusion that could only rival Lily's… A moment later, Lily managed to recover her voice. _

"_What on earth is so funny Potter?" she demanded, she stomped her foot and crossed her arms frustratedly, her lips pouting slightly, how dare James find her jinx funny? He was supposed to feel guilty! _

"_It's just my __**hair**__! It's green, and I can nearly use it as a skipping rope!" James laughed, his hair now brushing his knees. Lily shook her head, he wasn't supposed to find this funny, he was meant to feel bad about hexing Severus!_

"_Come on Lily, let's go." Severus urged, now behind Lily, his shirt stained with navy ink and his robes creased from the fall. He was holding his books in his arms, the remains of his satchel slung over his shoulder, its hem split wide open. _

"_Fine." Lily answered shortly, a scowl sent in James' direction – James however, was oblivious as his scraped his toes. Lily turned on her heel and followed Severus down the hallway; Hestia was stood at the opposite end, totally bemused by the whole situation that she had stumbled across on her way to Divination. Lily had almost reached Hestia when a shout stopped her dead in her tracks. _

"_Go out with me Evans?" she knew it was James' voice, she'd heard those words uttered in her direction many times, she could almost see the smirk crossing his face despite her turned back and his curtain of green hair which had stopped as it reached the floor. _

"_Get lost Potter." She sneered, her back still turned. _

"_Come on, you know you want me!" James urged, his voice slightly less arrogant than it had been previously. She rolled her eyes, Hestia knew her best friend well enough – Lily was about to do something she ought to regret, but in reality wouldn't even bat an eye lid at… Lily shot another jinx in James' direction, this time James uttered a quiet scream, muffled by the sound of ripping leather. It took a few moments before Hestia realised where the ripping was coming from… then she realised it was coming from James' shoes… James' feet were swelling at rapid pace, now five times the normal size and had broken his shoes apart as they grew and grew. She noted they vaguely resembled the feet of a mountain troll, discoloured slightly as the skin stretched. Sirius and Peter stared open mouthed at James' feet, his socks now barely nothing more than black strings that striped across his skin. Pushing the curtain of green hair from his face, James was met with Lily's triumphant smirk. _

"_Not so funny now it's you is it Potter?" Lily remarked and with a pleading glance from Hestia, they made their way to Divination, Lily's mind now free of James Potter's proposal and his hex on Severus._

"That was not funny Lily!" James chided as his girlfriend giggled at the memory.

"Oh it was! Your hair was all green and your feet were so huge!" she leant her head onto his shoulder for support as her giggles threatened to overcome her.

"Okay it was a little bit funny…" James concluded, giving into the giggles that had been trying to surface since they'd recalled the memory.

"You thought so at the time." Lily reminded with a nudge in his side with her elbow, James nodded in agreement.

"That I did. You should have seen me try and walk to the hospital wing though… I fell over like ten times just down that corridor. Broke my nose too, I tripped over my own feet, it was kind of embarrassing actually…" James admitted, rubbing the back of his head as a faint red blush crept up his neck.

"Poor baby." Lily cooed, flicking his nose. James recoiled slightly, causing Lily to dissolve into fits of giggles again. The pair once again fell into a comfortable silence. The pair flopped down, sat the cold stone floor, James' arm still wrapped around Lily's shoulder. The only light that of the ¾ moon, its beam spotlighting the tower out against the darkness of the Hogwarts ground. They weren't sure how long they just sat there, James' arm wrapped around her shoulders, her body pressed against him, it may have been minutes, it may have been hours, Lily wasn't sure how much time had actually passed.

"It's strange isn't it?" she asked, her head turning to face his.

"What's strange?" he asked his a raised eyebrow and a confused smile.

"Me and you. Us. It's strange isn't it? Who would have thought it would work." She mused, pressing a kiss to James' cheek.

"Me, I knew, I knew you'd give into me some day." He teased, nuzzling her nose with his own.

"No you didn't you liar." She accused lightly.

"No, you're right. I didn't actually." James admitted, his faint blush creeping across his cheekbones once again. "There was that time in fifth year, after the incident at the lake… I never thought you'd forgive me. I genuinely thought you hated me…" he couldn't quite meet her eye, his focus instead on the moon, a shining orb against the black blanket of the sky.

"You thought I hated you?" Lily asked, leaning out his embrace slightly so she could face him head on.

"Yeah… I thought you did." James replied after a moments silence, finally meeting her gaze.

"I never hated you James, you know that." She replied. "I'll admit, once you grew up a bit, I liked you more." She added with a smile. James breathed a small laugh.

"After that day at the lake, when you said you wanted all the arguments and the fighting to be over, it struck me how mature you were being about the whole thing. I'd been awful to you before and yet you reached out to me, just after you'd just lost your best friend and you were being so mature about it, you didn't spread any rumours about him and you didn't yell at him in public. You just told him calmly you wanted nothing to do with him, I guess… I realised I needed to grow up, not just for you," he added "but for myself." He concluded.

_She'd been sat there for over an hour, her eyes red and blotchy, but her tears no longer fell, they hadn't for some time. He'd been sat away from her, just out of her eye line but she was within his. She'd just been sat there, at first she'd been crying, loud, noisy sobs that broke his heart with every tear that fell, then her eyes had dried and her tears had stopped falling. She'd muttered some words of encouragement to herself, he was unsure what she said, the distance obscuring his hearing, but it seemed to have worked, she still looked fragile, although more like pottery than glass. _

"_I __**can**__ see you Potter." She called out, her green eyes finding him with no effort. James cursed himself, he was sure she couldn't see her, it seemed he was mistaken. He pulled himself awkwardly to his feet, brushing the blades of grass from his school trousers. _

"_I'll be going then Evans." He nodded, and made to walk away. _

"_Wait!" she called out, she sounded desperate, it was a characteristic that James would never have associated with the beautiful red head whose eyes seemed fixed on the back of his head. James turned quickly, her face was already reddening with a faint blush but other than that, she looked positively normal… James was confused, had he imagined her call? Or had Lily Evans really called out for him not to leave? "Sit with me?" she asked, she looked on the brink of tears once again, James couldn't refuse, but for once he didn't want to be near her. Every time he looked into those beautiful green eyes, the ones he loved so much, he was reminded of her face as Snape had uttered that awful word, the word that ultimately ended their friendship. Every time he looked into her eyes, he was reminded of her eyes brimming with tears, utterly devastated, and knowing he'd caused that, to the girl he was supposed to be in love with. _

"_Okay." He replied and took up the seat next to her, sitting possibly as far away from her as he could without making it obvious. An awkward silence fell over the unlikely pair, James noted she looked reluctant to start the conversation, or at least lost for words. So, taking the initiative, he spilled everything that had been playing on his mind since earlier that afternoon. _

"_Look Lily, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have egged him on like that, I should have left you alone, I shouldn't have said anything, I'm sorry for teasing you, I'm sorry for teasing Sni-Snape. And I'm sorry for making him say that word, I'm-"_

"_It's okay James." Lily cut him off "I believe you." James didn't quite believe what he was hearing, did Lily just accept his apology, there was no begging on his knees, he hadn't had to confound her, she had just accepted it…_

"_Oh…err…" was all he could manage, he wasn't quite sure what was happening, her mouth formed a small smile at that, James felt his mouth mirror hers, when Lily smiled – no matter how small – everyone around her smiled too. _

"_It's okay James, it's been coming for a while, you know – me and Severus. I've just been hoping this day would never come." She confided, a single tear escaped her eye but she furiously wiped it away with the back of her hand and no more fell. "It's not like I've never heard him say that word before, I heard him and Wilkes using it about the Head Girl a while ago, I just chose to ignore it, just like I ignored everything else. I ignored the growing obsession with the dark arts, all the spells he invented, his other friends, I ignored it all because I convinced myself that he hadn't changed, but he has, he's not my Severus anymore." She finished, James didn't know why she had just spilled all of this to him, but he didn't want to upset her further so kept his mouth shut. "Can we be friends James?" the request took him by surprise. _

"_Err, yes?" He replied, unsure of why his reply was phrased by like a question, his mouth forming his reply before his brain could. _

"_Good." She replied, her voice shaking slightly. She stood up to leave but James caught her delicate wrist with his hand, she took a sharp intake of breath before turning back to face him. _

"_Why?" he asked "Why do you want to be friends, after all this time, why now?"_

"_I'm… I'm just sick of all the fighting, all the arguing, I just want it to be over. I'm absolutely sick of having to defend myself every day, and Merlin forbid, if this Voldemort guy gets any more followers, having someone on my side that really genuinely cares for me can't be a bad thing can it?" she answered, his grip on her wrist slackened and she tore away back up towards the castle, her feet hitting the grass then stone. _

_He sat there for a while, until her footsteps faded into silence, her words still ringing in his ears and whirring around his brain, their conversation playing over and over. That was the first time that Lily had ever acknowledged his feelings for her, properly and truly, she acknowledged how much he cared for her and didn't belittle or dismiss his feelings as a 'school boy crush'. She'd trusted him, she'd let him know what was on her mind, how she was feeling, feelings she probably hadn't expressed to anyone yet… and she'd extended a hand of friendship towards him, when all he deserved was pushing away. James was stunned by her maturity, she was approaching this situation rationally and with more maturity than James thought he possessed in every bone in his body. It was in that moment that James vowed to change, he could have ruined Lily's life that day, he could have completely destroyed her – he'd egged Snape on, but if he had kept his mouth shut, none of this would have happened. The realisation of the weight of his actions hung on his mind; if Lily could approach a situation like this with that level of maturity and forgive him, then the least he could do was grow up enough to accept it. The notion played through his thoughts, he needed to grow up – that was certain – he needed to start talking responsibility for his actions, start treating others and their property with more respect, the kind of respect he wanted them to treat him with, start realising that all of Lily's jibes at him might not have been far from the truth, he was arrogant, egocentric, and all that needed to change, not necessarily for Lily – although she had been the catalyst for this sudden realisation – but for himself. _

"I felt awful after that day at the lake you know." James confided in a sleeping Lily. They'd layed flat on their backs against the cold stone of the tower, where Lily had fallen to sleep, James' arms wrapped protectively around her, her head rested on his chest, her body pressed against his. "I felt so awful, I thought I'd ruined your life and for that I'm sorry. But…" he continued, "I'm glad you forgave me. I love you Lily."

**Authors note: thank you for reading! You know I'm quite into my flashbacks, so I decided to include three in one chapter – woo! And I'm sorry if you're not a fan of them because another chapter, nearer the end is going to incorporated a lot of flashbacking too – so sorry! Hopefully ou caught the reference to Andromeda, (the brown haired girl who Sirius was making faces at) I did some research and Andromeda may well have been in her seventh year as Sirius started, I took some artistic license and added this in! Plus when Lily overheard Snape using 'mudblood' that would be against Mary Macdonald who we met not long ago, as two years head of them, she was would have been Head Girl. That was just to clear anything up in case you missed it **** and I am going to apologise now for time between updates from now on, my next set of exams are coming up so I won't have quite as much time to write, but I'll hopefully squeeze it in somewhere! Thank you for reading and remember to review! xxx**

**PS again, no reworked chapters because I'm too lazy to do them! **


	41. News

**Authors note: look at me updating already! I think this is a quick update for me, considering I have mock exams this week and my real exams are only a month and a half away! Now, this chapter is going to be quite sad, so please don't hate me **

**Sirius uses a naughty swear word in this chapter; he is a naughty boy who deserves to have his mouth washed out with soap – sorry for any offence caused!**

_**Recap: James and Lily, bored on rounds decided to head up to the Astronomy tower as Lily wants to see the stars. Lily is once again reminded that the future for her looks quite bleak, James pretends to read the stars for her and tells her she will marry her 'gorgeous boyfriend' and have lots of children, as well as be happy in whatever she does. Lily admits she would love to be Mrs Potter and they recall the first time James asked her out, a moment from their third year and their conversation after the incident at the lake in their fifth year. **_

"Prongs?!" Sirius exclaimed, clicking his fingers in front of James' face. Less than a minute previously James had been falling asleep into his porridge, it seemed sleeping in the astronomy tower did not leave you feeling refreshed the next morning, but after scanning the letter written in his father's cursive print, he had jolted awake. He had been so absorbed in the letter that he had stopped midway through a sentence that he had been sleepily rambling. His friends were now eyeing him with an eye of suspicion and anxiousness; unexpected letters were usually not something to be welcomed these days.

"James are you alright?" Hestia asked, half a slice of toast abandoned on her plate, James suddenly realised his friends were all staring at him.

"Um… yeah, fine. Err… can I talk to you, alone?" James asked Sirius across the table. Sirius looked less than impressed, a plate full of breakfast in front of him, he looked at it longingly.

"Can it not wait?" Sirius asked, the thoughts of crispy bacon and sausages smothered in ketchup overpowering every other thought that entered his brain.

"Not really Sirius." James replied. At the use of his first name Sirius looked up, aware that James was serious. Sirius nodded and both boys stood abruptly, the rest of the group exchanging confused glances. Lily caught James' wrist as he stood.

"Is everything alright? I recognised the writing on the envelope. It's from your dad, isn't it? Is everything okay?" she asked in a quiet voice, hoping no-one around her could hear. James looked at her for a moment, and then nodded.

"My parents are fine." He responded quickly, and she released his wrist. He sprung from her grasp and followed Sirius already disappearing through the doors of the Great hall and out into the entrance hall.

"Wonder what's up with them?" Jessica thought aloud, before spooning a mouthful of porridge into her mouth.

"Beats me." Peter added.

"We'll find out sooner or later." Alice reminded and the rest of the group nodded in agreement.

"Morning guys!" Frank said cheerily as he appeared alongside the table, taking Sirius' recently vacated seat and planting a kiss on Alice's cheek. "Where were James and Sirius off too, they looked in a hurry?" he asked, buttering a slice of toast and piling a spoonful of scrambled egg onto his plate.

"We don't know." Remus sighed. "James just got a letter and disappeared off, no idea what it was about." He added with a shrug.

"Well there's no point fretting over it yet, it could be nothing – maybe James' goldfish died – pass the salt Jess?" Frank offered and the rest of the group couldn't help but agree, it was probably nothing, still Hestia felt uneasy, the feeling had settled over her a few days ago and she'd been unable to put her finger on the source of her discomfort. Mentally shutting the uncomfortable feeling away in a metaphorical box, she allowed herself to be pulled in to Frank's cheery morning mood and the subject of the mysterious letter was soon forgotten.

"James, slow down!" Sirius panted. James, with his long legs was able to take the dormitory stairs two at a time, Sirius, whose legs were considerably shorter couldn't match his pace. Rounding the door to their room, Sirius flopped down on his bed, breathless. Inhaling deeply, Sirius turned to his best friend who was still looking uneasy, his eyes flicking over the letter once again. Sirius had deduced the letter was from Edward Potter – his cursive handwriting was scrawled across the envelope somewhat untidily - and the envelope had been sealed with the deep red seal of the Potter crest.

"It's Marlene." James replied simply. Sirius sat up and eyed James suspiciously, a tight feeling encasing his chest.

"Go on." Sirius urged.

"Now, don't freak out or anything but -" James warned, his eyes flicking between the letter and Sirius' anxious expression.

"For Agrippa's sake James – spit it out!" Sirius snapped, James took this as a sign to continue.

"She was arrested." James blurted, cursing himself for not delivering the news more delicately.

Silence.

James couldn't read Sirius' expression, it unnerved him whenever he couldn't, he didn't know what was going on inside his best friend's head, an unusual occurrence for the two Marauders.

"On what charges?" Sirius asked, his voice unusually calm, his expression unreadable.

"Murder." James answered, but he was quick to add to his statement. "But she's been released! The Aurors aren't pressing charges."

More silence.

"What?!" Sirius demanded, shattering the silence. "The Aurors aren't pressing charges? What on earth does that mean? Is she going to Azkaban? Did she kill someone or what?!" he questioned, James shook his head, he wanted to answer the questions but the information his father had given him was incomplete and rambled.

"Dad's not explained it very well," James admitted "you what he gets like when he's rushing, he misses stuff out!"

"Let me read that." Sirius demanded, jumping from his bed and snatching the letter from James' grasp, crumpling the edges in his haste. Scanning the text as quickly as he could, he learnt virtually no information.

"It says she turned up on your doorstep, why would she do that? Why not just go straight to the Aurors if she'd killed someone?" Sirius thought aloud. James shrugged.

"I have no idea." He sighed. "Thought I should tell you first though, seen as though the two of you have history…" James added, absently running a hand through his hair.

"History? Yeah we have history, but so do you James... and she's family. We're all family, all us Purebloods, we're related somewhere along the line." Sirius snarled, slamming the letter down on the bedside table with a bang. He made for the door, but James blocked his path.

"Where are you going?" James queried, ignoring the jibe from his best friend that he knew was only coming from anger tinged with fear and having more questions than answers.

"To send a letter to Marlene obviously! She needs to tell me what the hell is going on!" Sirius exclaimed, trying to push James out of the way but he stood firm.

"Calm down Pads." James urged, Sirius eyed him suspiciously but allowed him to continue. "Don't badger her, if she wants to tell you she will, and if she doesn't send us a letter, we ask mum – she'll know. Hassling is the last thing Marlene needs right now." Sirius exhaled deeply and rubbed his mouth with his hand, fidgeting he turned to face the opposite direction, his fingers massaging his temple.

"Okay." He sighed. "I guess you're right." James nodded and moved away from the doorway. "But I _do _need some air." Sirius noted, James gestured towards the doorway and allowed Sirius to exit. As the door opened, the small frame of Lily Evans was exposed, standing sheepishly outside their door, her face quite unsure if she should even be there. Sirius barely comprehended her presence as stepped beside her and hurried down the stairs.

"Hey." Lily greeted quietly, not quite managing to meet James' eye. The sound of Sirius' footsteps becoming increasingly quieter until they could no longer be heard at all.

"Come in." James gestured, she entered and settled on the edge of his bed, James was stood, staring out the window, the reflection of the sunlight on the distant mountains was a somewhat fascinating view this time in the morning, James was unsure why'd he'd never taken the time to properly take the view in before.

"I'm sorry, I'll go." Lily said quickly, rising from her position and made for the door, but was stopped by James' shout.

"Don't!" he called out. She turned back to him, her expression confused but understanding.

"It's okay James, I shouldn't have been listening in, I'll just go, and it's obvious you want to be alone." Lily soothed.

"No it's fine, stay. " James replied, gesturing to Lily's previous position, which he had now flopped down next too. She nodded sheepishly and settled down next to him, not wanting to argue against James at this moment. "How much did you hear?" James asked once she had retaken her position.

"Most of it, sorry was I was not meant to hear it? I'm sorry but you both looked worried so I came to check you were both okay but -" Lily babbled but she was cut off his a small laugh from James.

"It's alright Lil," he replied, pressing a kiss to her temple. "I just wanted to know because I don't really feel like repeating myself right now." He admitted. Lily nodded, if what she'd just heard was true, then it was fair that James wanted to repeat it. She knew James and Marlene had been fairly close, not so much since she'd left Hogwarts but their families had been closely linked, and to hear such news must have been incredibly distressing for him.

"Was Sirius telling the truth?" Lily asked, James looked up at her bemused by her question. "I mean, was he telling the truth when he said all Purebloods are linked? Like family?" she added, the wizarding world was still a somewhat mystery to her. Fair enough she'd been educated as a witch for the last six and half years, but the world outside of Hogwarts was quiet different to within the isolated walls of the castle.

"Um, yeah. It's a strange one." James mused, laughing lightly.

"How so?" Lily asked, the subject of Purebloods had always intrigued her, their world seemed incredibly different to her own; they came from old money, they had influence and prestige that she could only dream of in her modest three bed roomed semi in Cokeworth. Her parents were far from poor, there was no doubt about that, but her home was nothing compared to the Potter mansion. Lily had glimpsed into the life of Pureblood over Christmas and was eager to learn more.

"Well, it's weird," James explained. "All the Pureblood families are linked pretty much. I mean, through marriages and stuff, they make links between the families and there's not so many of us any more – so like, err… those purebloods, like the Black's, that'll only marry other Purebloods end up marrying like their second cousin or something…" Lily scrunched up her nose and released a small laugh.

"You're right, that is weird!" Lily replied. "So are _you_ related to Frank, and Alice and Sirius?" she asked as the thought entered her brain. "They're all Purebloods and so are you, so is your family linked to theirs?" she added as an afterthought.

"Alice's family is a weird one," he answered; Lily raised an eyebrow and gestured for him to continue. "Her family is Pureblood, there's no denying that but, the Prewitts's are a _new _Pureblood family, only 150 years old, maybe a bit more, it's an offshoot from the Prewett family I think, I'm not too sure. Mum never made me study my family tree – you should ask Sirius, he was made to learn his like 18 generations back, he'd be able to tell you more." James smiled, Lily urged him to carry on, this was interesting, and she didn't quite want James to stop yet.

"Err the Longbottom's are an old family, I'm not too sure if they're related to us, one of my great grandparents was a Longbottom though I think, and yeah I'm related to Sirius. My granddad Charlus, he married Dorea Black, so yeah we're related, not sure how close we are though. We're linked to most Pureblood families, somewhere along the line." James explained. "We're related to the McKinnon's too, Scarlett and my mum were cousins or something, they were both Yaxley's before they married." He added. Lily nodded, trying to take everything in.

"Like that guy they suspect of being a death eater Yaxley?" Lily questioned. James nodded solemnly.

"He's some distant cousin of my mum's I think; she doesn't really have much contact with her family. She doesn't really like them too much." James grinned.

"I can see why!" Lily grinned back. "What about Sirius' family?" Lily asked and James rolled his eyes.

"Don't get me started; the Blacks are connected to _everyone_!" James moaned, hanging his head in his hands, Lily nudged him in the ribs and he laughed before continuing. "Well his mum was Rosier before she married Orion Black. You know, like Evan Rosier? That creepy Head Boy a few years ago –the one the same year as Macdonald?" James asked, Lily nodded, she knew the boy, she didn't like him, but she knew of him. "Well he's Sirius' cousin, couple of other weirdo's too, then there's Bellatrix and Narcissa, Andromeda too – but she's been disowned now…" James trailed off, Lily didn't press the subject, she knew a small part of the other disowned Black's story, but hadn't really been too interested, it wasn't her business to pry into other family's relationship problems. "There are loads of others – any Pureblood family you can think of and they're linked somewhere!" James finished. "Any more questions or are you finished now?" James teased.

"Don't chide me James! This is interesting!" Lily laughed, giving him a playful shove. "What about Jessica's mum and Hestia's dad? They 're Purebloods aren't they?" she added, remembering her friends and off comments her friends had mentioned over the years. Lily knew Jessica had been raised in a fairly muggle household, of course she knew of magic – her mother _was_ a witch, although she'd wanted her children to know the basics of life without a wand, just in case anything should happen to them, she also knew Hestia's upbringing had been the opposite. Hestia had been brought up like a Pureblood, despite having a muggle mother, she'd been too many of the high society parties and like most other children born to families of this stature, she'd taken classes in things that were regarded as appropriate for a Pureblood child: she'd taken ballet classes and learned French, however Emrys Jones- Hestia's father – had been lax on the discipline, being raised in a strict Pureblood household had, in effect, ruined his childhood, he was determined to not raise his only daughter that way. Naturally, Hestia had her father wrapped round her little finger, it was her mother Kathryn she had to worry about…

"Jessica's mum was a pureblood I'm pretty sure – she might have been one of the Dearborn's, that seems to ring a bell. Hestia's family are one of those _new _Pureblood families, the Jones' are a bit older than the Prewitt's, they're from Wales I think. A bit more respected, that's why when Emrys married Kathryn, there wasn't too much of a fuss – they're high enough to be respected, but low enough for people to not really care about what they do, good place really." James answered, wracking his brain for answers. Pureblood history was not his best subject – however he felt compelled to answer the best he could, just to satisfy Lily's questions. Lily nodded, stewing over his answer. "The old Pureblood families though," James added "namely the Blacks and suchlike, they don't really accept these families though, the new ones I mean, if they're not on that list then they don't really accept them as Pureblood, its mad really." James mused, running a hand through his hair. Lily was silent for a moment, before turning back to James.

"Why don't they accept them? Surely a Pureblood is a Pureblood?" she asked, she was struggling to comprehend all what James was saying.

"Well you see, there's this list, the Ministry put it together a while back, of all the Pureblood families, the Blacks only count those families as Pureblood."

"I'm guessing the Potter's are on that list then? Maybe not the Jones' or the Prewitt's?" Lily asked, although her questions were more like a statements.

"Nope, none of us." He answered simply.

"No?" she asked, confused.

"No, we're too pro-muggle, the Ministry don't like that too much, and the other two are just too new." He laughed. Shaking his head slightly, James shrugged. "Mum and dad like muggles you see, in fact – when mum and dad's marriage was arranged, she didn't want to marry him because he was a Pureblood – mum was a bit of a rebel you see." He smiled. Lily laughed, she could imagine Sarah doing that, then James' wording suddenly dawned on her.

"Your parents' marriage was arranged?" she questioned.

"Yeah." James said "most Pureblood marriages are. Mum had a massive duck fit though when my Granddad told her though, kicked off because she didn't want to marry a_ Pureblood_." he stopped to laugh, and then gathering his composure, he continued. "then, she found out it was dad – this guy that she knew from Hogwarts who she described as _dreamy_ then you couldn't get her in that wedding dress quick enough! Yeah their marriage _was_ arranged, but they were the lucky ones, they managed to fall in love." He concluded, and Lily smiled, despite the nature of their wedding, it was still a sweet story and it was quite obvious to anyone who saw them, Edward and Sarah were very much in love. Lily opened her mouth to ask yet another question but she was cut off his a cursing James.

"Crap, if we don't leave now we'll miss Potions!" James exclaimed after glancing at the clock, he scrambled from his seat on the edge of his bed and yanked Lily with him, nearly pulling her arm off in the process. Grabbing their satchels, discarded by the door, he hurried down the stairs, Lily nearly breaking an ankle in the process.

Breathless, they reached the Potions classroom just a moment behind Hestia and Jessica. The two girls looked amused; Jessica crossed her arms in front of her chest and tutted.

"You too are a bit out of breath, been up to something?" she teased, an eyebrow raised in their direction.

"No!" Lily defended. "We thought we were going to be late so we had to run from the common room!"

"If you say so…" Hestia smirked, before linking her arm through Lily's and dragging her into the classroom.

Settling in their usual seats, they were surprised to find Sirius already sat on the bench in front of them, parchment and quill ready on his desk, as well as a small pot of navy blue ink.

"Alright." He greeted as others stared at him confused. James settled next to him, taking all his self-restraint to stop his mouth from dropping open.

"Thought you'd taken off. I didn't expect to see you if I'm being honest." James admitted, taking a roll of parchment from his satchel and laying down a quill, dipping it in Sirius' ink and scrawling his name in the top left hand corner.

"Thought about it." Sirius replied, his eyes fixed on the front of the room and the bumbling Professor who was attempting to pull a blackboard into the centre of the classroom with the brake still applied on the wheels, he obviously hadn't noticed. It was only when Lily pointed out this fact did he notice and award his favourite student five points, she blushed maroon as Jessica hissed 'teacher's pet'. James didn't press Sirius any further, this wasn't the time.

A few moments later, the lesson started. The Professor had pulled out a tray of vials from the store cupboard, each containing a thick golden liquid.

"These are you vials of Felix Felicis!" he declared proudly. "Each one is nearly brewed, then once its finished we'll test them out and assign a grade!" he added excitedly. "Now on with the rest of the theory, behind the – Minerva?" the Professor stuttered. The class all turned to face the doorway to classroom, and true to his word, there stood Minerva McGonagall looking truly solemn.

"May I borrow Miss Silvers?" she enquired. "I'm sorry to take her so close to NEWTs, but this is important." She explained, Jessica stood in her chair and stepped away from her desk. "Bring your things dear." The deputy headmistress added, her tone unsettled Lily, McGonagall was never that soft. Still bemused, Jessica gathered up het things into her satchel, exchanging confused glances with her friends before following her head of house out of the Potions classroom, the sounds of the lesson fading as she exited the dungeons behind Professor McGonagall. Jessica followed the Transfiguration Professor up staircases and down corridors until they reached the Transfiguration corridor and McGonagall's office. The Professor held open the door and Jessica entered, stopping abruptly when she recognised the two other occupants of the office who had stood as she entered.

"Dylan? Jake?" Jessica exclaimed.

"Jess." Dylan breathed, enveloping his younger sister in a hug, something he hadn't done in a long while, the soft blonde bristles of his short beard tickling her face.

"What's going on?" Jessica questioned, turning to Minerva McGonagall, not that she wasn't pleased to see her bothers, she was, but there was an uncomfortable atmosphere in the small office, an atmosphere that was making Jessica feel quite nauseous.

"Sit down Jessica." the Professor said, transfiguring a chair of one of the trinkets on the shelf beside her desk and gesturing for Jessica to sit down.

"Why are we here?" Dylan asked, taking the seat.

"If Jess has done something naughty, couldn't you just have owled us?" Jake added, obviously uneasy, he was shuffling uncomfortably in his seat. Rightly so, the last time he'd been in this office he'd had 50 points deducted from him and a month of detentions, not to mention a right talking to from a younger Jessica.

"That is not the reason I have called you here." She answered, Jessica shot her brother a triumphant look and he shrugged. "I'm very sorry to inform you, but your mother's body has been found." Professor McGonagall apologised. "A group of Aurors were called to a small house on the Yorkshire Moors after an alert from the public; the dark mark was hanging over head. I'm so sorry." The Professor apologised again, she hated delivering news like this, it broke her heart to see the looks on her student's faces as she relayed the unfortunate news. This time was particularly devastating, Jessica and her brothers had just begun to rebuild their lives after the news of their father back in September, but now their world was about to cave in yet again, and all just before Jessica's NEWT exams…

"Oh my god." Dylan breathed, holding his head in his hands. Jake rubbed his face roughly, obviously trying to hide the tears that were surely about to fall.

As the three Silvers children sat in front of her, Minerva McGonagall was reminded of a young Harmony Dearborn. Jessica and Dylan had her hair, a white blonde, Jake had her eyes, a crisp blue, all three of them encompassed her personality, Jessica had her Quidditch skills, Jake her quick wit and Dylan her vulnerable side, although she'd often try to hide that side of herself, that was until she had met Aaron Silvers and gone head over heels. Minerva McGonagall had attended their wedding, a small affair held in a muggle church, only their immediate family and a few friends in attendance. They'd met in the muggle world, when Harmony had taken off to escape some of the stresses of living as Pureblood teenager and strolling through Hyde Park, she'd literally bumped into Aaron and they'd hit it off straight away, six months later they'd married and a year after that Dylan came along. As her three children sat in front of her now, the memories of a bright and bubbly student came flooding back, as well as the injustice that surrounded her demise. She'd been shunned by members of her family for marrying a muggle, marrying beneath her; it seemed someone wanted to make an example of her…

Dylan opened his mouth to speak but closed it once again, her gripped Jessica's hand tightly, rubbing circles with his thumb.

"I'm sorry, I've got to go." Jessica excused and tore from the room. As the door slammed behind her, the tears began to fall. Running from the Transfiguration corridor, her feet slapping the stone floor, her blonde locks flew out behind her. Eyes blurred from tears she knew just where to go, where she wouldn't be disturbed. Her feet carried her there on autopilot, despite only visiting the place once before. Her feet slowed, she'd found the place she was looking for, she paced three times in front of the wall and as soon as the door opened, she slipped inside, sure she would not be disturbed to grieve in piece, the load of yesterday's letter still weighing down her pocket as it sat crumpled against the red silk lining of her school robes.

"Jake?" Hestia exclaimed, enveloping her friend's brother in a hug. "What are you doing here? Are you alright, you look like you're about to _cry_." Hestia added, releasing the boy from her grasp and studying him at arm's length. The brown haired boy had been the last person she expected to see stalking through the corridors, Dylan at his side.

"Erm… I don't quite know how I feel at the minute, ask my tomorrow and I might be able to answer." He replied softly, a small smile gracing his lips, his eyes watery. Alice appeared at Hestia's shoulder.

"What's going on? Where's Jess?" she asked, directing her question at Jake who looked more in control than his older brother. Dylan's eyes were already swollen and the blood vessels were beginning to swell, redness creeping into the whites of his eyes, the odd tear slipped down his stubbled cheeks but he wiped them away with the back of his hand. Hestia began to panic slightly, if Jess had been pulled out of class and her brothers were now in school, something serious must have happened, especially considering the state of the pair of brothers; Jake, although he looked shaken and upset, was nothing to Dylan, he looked broken, something truly dreadful must have happened.

"She's not with you?" Jake answered "When she left us, she seemed in a hurry to get away. I thought it was to get back to you guys…" Jake trailed off, his blue eyes confused and unsure of what to make of the situation.

"What's happened?" Hestia asked again, her tone soft. She gently rubbed Dylan's arm soothingly, although it seemed to have no effect.

"They've found mum's body. She's really gone." Jake explained, as the words left his mouth, reality seemed to hit him. His bottom lip quivered as he struggled to keep control of his emotions. Unable to see someone cry, Hestia pulled him into her embrace and held him while he cried, noisy sobs that pierced the relative silence of the corridor. Alice took Dylan and held him, the much taller man thankful for the smaller girl's comfort. Hestia felt the vomit rise in her throat, she knew Jessica had only just begun to truly put her fathers death behind her, this new revelation would put her ten paces backwards, and although Jessica had always insisted her mother was dead, the hope was too much to bear, they had always kept a small glimmer of hope alive, silently wishing for Harmony Silvers safe return. The two girls stood, just stood there, holding their best friend's brothers in their arms while they cried, ignoring the strange looks from first years and other students who were now filling the corridor, eventually the boys pulled away, Dylan first then Jake followed.

"Come on, I think you need to go home." Alice suggested, taking Dylan's hand and leading him towards the entrance of the castle, Jake and Hestia just behind them.

"We'll find Jessica." Hestia added, as the front doors came into sight.

"We, we had better go." Dylan stuttered, it was the first words the girls had heard him utter that day, Alice noted his voice was slightly deeper than when they'd last met. "We have to tell Gran…" he trailed off, addressing his brother.

"I'll do it." Jake assured, rubbing his brother's shoulder, then he turned to the two girls. "Find Jess and make sure she's okay?" he asked, Hestia and Alice nodded, their own eyes pricking with tears. "She might be annoying, but she's my baby sister and I don't want her alone right now." He managed a small smile.

"Thank you." Dylan added. "Thank you; you've been there for Jess and us this year, Lily too. Just… keep it up." He finished, before turning away and descending towards the village to apparate home, his brother only a step behind him.

"Merlin…" Remus trailed off; there were no others words for it. Slumping back into the soft cushions of the sofa, he ran his hands through his hair. "And you haven't seen her since?" he added, addressing Hestia, who sat opposite him, her knees pulled up to her chest, her arms wrapped around herself, her eyes staring out the window, seemingly unresponsive.

"We haven't seen her all day." Alice answered when it was evident Hestia would not. "Jake said she'd taken off. He assumed she was coming to us, but we haven't seen her since she left Potions." Alice, it seemed, was the only rational one left, upon hearing the news of Harmony's death and Jessica's subsequent disappearance Hestia had reverted to a vegetive state, she'd sat through her afternoon classes without hearing a word, and was now oblivious to any attempts to talk to her. Lily had burst into tears, she'd sobbed how it wasn't fair and how could this happen to Jessica? James and Sirius had sat and listened to the story and offered to go out and look for Jessica, using James' invisibility cloak to stay out after curfew if needed. Remus sat staring into space, muttering to himself, Peter sighed deeply.

"So we have absolutely no idea where she could be?" he asked, Alice shook her head.

"We've checked everywhere." Hestia croaked, her voice taking everyone by surprise. "We checked all the towers, empty classrooms, our room, everywhere in here; we have no idea where else to check." She added, her eyes focused on her knees and her fingers idly playing with the growing ladder in her tights down the inside of her ankle.

"Have you checked the grounds?" Peter asked, Alice shook her head.

"The Marauders know those better than anybody at this school, if she's out there we'll find her." Peter offered, squeezing Hestia's knee, she returned a small smile as he stood and exited the common room to continue the hunt for Jess. As Peter exited, James and Sirius re-entered. Alice looked longingly at them, but they shook their head. Lily scrambled back through the portrait hole a moment later, she too shook her head. It seemed Jessica was nowhere to be found.

"I looked everywhere, I even asked Peeves but he hadn't seen her either." Lily reported, Hestia continued to stare blankly out the window and barely registered the entrance of the three others. Lily draped her arm around her shoulders; Hestia leant her head back into Lily's chest but made no other gesture of recognition. James and Sirius were just about to go back out and search again when a tap of the window pulled them from their thoughts. Sirius stood, he crossed the common room quickly and the window opened with a creak. Lily felt her chest tighten, when she'd received a letter like that in the common room, it had been from the Death eaters, inviting her to join their cause, that they'd protect her if she'd join up to be one of them. James sensed Lily's growing panic and squeezed her hand reassuringly.

"It'll be alright." He soothed, she wasn't sure if he knew the real reason for this fright, or just the general panic of Jessica going missing but she appreciated his sentiment. Sirius tore opened the letter, and at once recognising the handwriting, he called for James, who rose from the arm of the sofa and followed his best friend up the stairs, the rest of the group unsure of what had called them away. They listened intently as the boys footsteps quietened, then the muffled sound of a door opening and closing, then silence.

That was how Frank found the group a few moments later, sat around the fire in their usual chairs, their faces sombre but blank.

"Still nothing?" he asked, Alice nodded. It seemed no-one could find her. Frank dropped into the seat next to Alice, she offered a small smile, but it didn't reach her eyes. He took her hand and rubbed small circles on her hand with his thumb. "What I don't understand," he whispered, so quiet only Alice could hear. "Is why you-know-who chose Jessica's mum to make an example of… I mean Hestia's dad is a Pureblood who married a muggle, and he's okay…" Alice turned to him, she sighed deeply, catching the attention of Remus who looked at them and then returned his gaze to the ceiling.

"But Jessica's mum was a prominent Pureblood who just completely dropped out of wizard society." Alice replied, her voice equally low. "She left the wizarding world and brought her family up in the muggle world, it seems he didn't like that." The thought pricked tears in her eyes but she forced them back down, now was not the time for tears, now was the time to be strong, strong for Jessica.

"Come on Padfoot, make it quick. We need to be out looking for Jessica." James snapped, Sirius was pacing the room, the letter slapping against his hand like a nervous twitch.

"It's from Marlene." Sirius replied simply. James dropped onto his bed, Sirius flopped next to him. "I haven't read it yet." He added. "I-I-I can't. Read it to me?" he asked sheepishly. James nodded taking the heavy parchment from his best friend and opening the folds. James understood Sirius' reluctance to read Marlene's message, this could be the last letter she wrote before being carted off to Azkaban, his father had said the Aurors weren't pressing charges, but still, things change.

"_Dearest Sirius_," James began. "_I know Edward had informed you vaguely of the events that have unfolded over the past few days, however I feel I must explain myself, to save you unnecessary worry and fret." _James finished reading the first line and turned to Sirius to gauge his reaction. He urged James to continue._ "As Edward may have already explained, a few nights ago, to be honest I'm unsure which, I returned to home to the annex in my parent's old home. I was just about to retire to bed when the noise of muffled voices drew my attention. At first I thought they were the neighbours but then I realised they were outside my room, inside my living space. I tried to keep quiet, to keep out of the way; I know the toll of unexpected visitors."_ James sighed; at much as he tried to expel the thoughts of the deaths in the outside world from his mind, it wasn't always easy. Then he continued. "_For what felt like hours they rifled through my drawers and my belongings, I heard my parent's names and mutterings about the Aurors; I later found out they were looking for my parents Auror files, however those were never left in the house and any documents were removed months ago for safety. Then silence fell, at first I thought they'd gone, but then they entered my room. I really, honestly thought I was going to die."_ James topped for a moment, Sirius was silent too. Marlene thought she was about to die, about to end up the same way as her parents… the thought made him want to be sick. "_As they entered my bedroom, I shot a stunning spell at one of them, there were two masked men, but it missed and alerted them to my presence. They began to shoot spells at me, I have no idea how I even survived, adrenaline I suppose. One of them made to grab me with his hands; my memory of this part is hazy so bear with me. I shot a spell at the intruder who was coming towards me, it seems his companion shot a spell at me at simultaneously but it missed and hit the man who was attacking me. I don't know what it was but there was blood everywhere, but he still came for me, he grabbed me but I pushed him away and he fell down, he didn't get up. I was covered in blood and the only thing running through my head was that I'd caused the damage. I ran from the room and apparated to the Potter's. Edward and Sarah took me in and they called the Aurors. Yes, I was arrested, however I was kept in comfortable conditions considering I'd confessed to killing someone, for the amount of blood he had already lost I was sure he was dead. The Aurors searched my home, they found one of the assailant's wands, he must have dropped it in his haste to leave. They had smashed a window and dropped onto broomsticks waiting outside, it being too dangerous to apparate with one of them in the condition they were. I'm not sure how, I haven't asked, the Aurors pieced together what had happened, through evidence and the wand I suppose. The wand belonged to Graham Nott, do you remember him? Beefy bloke, two years above me? Anyway, he was admitted to 's later that day, in serious need of medical treatment. He'd been branded with that awful mark down his left forearm and under veritaserum, he spilled the entire story to two Aurors, Fabian and Gideon Prewett, Molly's brothers, they're lovely. It seemed he had been obliviated prior to his arrest however, and he couldn't even remember anything. I was released and allowed to return to the Potter's home, where I was to stay until somewhere could be found for me. Tomorrow morning, I will be moving into a small house, I'm sorry I cannot divulge where, with my aunt and two cousins, who too in danger. I should be safe there, so no need to worry too much!_

_Since my ordeal I have realised life is too short, so I'm joining the resistance, I'm guessing you do not know anything of this yet so I won't expand, but I need to fight. I need to go against the people who have ruined my life and taken my parents from me. Once again, no need to worry, but I'm joining the Auror Academy. Sarah tells me James is joining in September too, so hopefully I'll see more of the pair of you. I know you'll worry, James too, but there is no need, I have made this decision entirely based on my need to change what is going on outside. The injustice is too much and I don't want anyone else to go through what I have been through this past six months. _

_All my love, Marlene McKinnon."_

James exhaled deeply, Sirius appeared blank. James handed the parchment back to him. James rose from his bed to leave Sirius to thoughts but to his surprise, Sirius too rose with him.

"Now let's go find Jessica." he croaked, his eyes shining with tears, James chose not to comment, but followed him as he trailed down the stairs, back towards the common room.

"There's nowhere else I can think of to look." James heard Lily say, she sounded tired. Nobody turned or showed any indication of their arrival. The two Marauders slipped in next to Remus who wore a grim expression.

"It's times like this we need to map." James mused. Sirius shot him a filthy look.

"I told you I'm sorry for that." He snapped, "Can we just let it go now?" James flipped him off with a wave of his hand.

"Hang on, what map?" Alice questioned, the others looked up at her question, the three Marauders realised everyone's eyes were now upon them.

"Err, the Marauders Map." Sirius' sheepish expression matched the others two's. Alice rolled her eyes and gestured for them to continue. "It showed where, err, everyone was in the castle, but, um, Filch confiscated it." Sirius finished, his chin rooted to chest in embarrassment.

"Sorry, I forgot they didn't know about that…" James apologised, although the other two barely recognised his voice. The rest of the group looked at them astonished.

"If you hadn't lost it we could use it to find Jessica!" Alice snapped. Sirius recoiled like he'd been slapped.

"Hang on though; you might have something with that." Remus offered, Alice and the rest looked at him blankly. "Not all places appeared on the map, the room of requirement doesn't." he explained. Lily shook her head.

"But Jess doesn't know where the room of requirement is, I didn't until James showed me." Lily answered. Alice and Hestia turned to her in surprise.

"You've been there?" Hestia questioned. Lily nodded, it seemed less of a shock to her than the others.

"Well I'm going to check anyway, later guys. I'll come back if I don't find anything." And before anyone could protest, he had risen from his seat and was already out the portrait hole.

The corridor was deserted, Remus was quite thankful of that fact, curfew was closing in fast and although his Prefect status allowed him a small amount of leeway, it would meant to explain why he was out on an night when he was not timetabled to patrol. Pacing up and down in front of the empty space of wall, he thought about where he wanted to be, this had to be right, he'd never been inside when someone else was already in. Would it take him directly to Jessica? Would he have to see her? Would the room let him if she'd wanted to be alone?

Finally he just decided, _take me to the place where Jessica Silvers is_, he thought as hard as he could, and as a door appeared, he slipped silently inside, the door disappearing as soon as he was safely inside.

He didn't have to look far for her, she had already found him.

"Go away." She shouted out shakily. Drawn to the sound of her voice, Remus noticed a small shape curled in the corner of the empty room. The shape however, didn't look human, that was until he got closer and realised he was just seeing the back of a person curled up in a foetal position, their knees tucked tight into the chest, lying on the side. The only defining quality was the mane of blonde hair that covered the head of the person and lay out across the floor. "I said go away." The blonde haired witch called out again, the tears evident by her tone.

"Everyone's really worried about you." Remus called back into the relative darkness. Jessica unfurled herself from her ball. She turned to face him.

"Remus?" she squinted against the dim light.

"Yeah." He replied sheepishly, uneasily rubbing his hand along the nape of his neck. He wasn't sure what to do next, he'd found Jessica, but what now? Should he comfort her? Should he go back and get the others who were probably still fretting about where she was? But as his eyes met hers, he knew he should just sit, sit with her whilst she cried; she didn't know but she needed someone right now. He crossed the room to where she was in a few short strides, eventually settling next to her. She lethargically pulled herself in to a sitting position, dust settled in her hair and along the side of her robes, she made no effort to brush off the dust particles from her other than that pristine robes.

"She's really gone." Jessica breathed simply, leaning against the wall, mirroring Remus' posture. Unsure of how to respond, Remus stayed silent, how could you comfort someone who had lost both parents in under a year? Instead his eyes focused on her, her blonde hair was left loose, flecks of dust from laying on the floor were scattered through her blonde locks, her brown eyes were red and puffy. The blood vessels had swollen, creating a bloodshot appearance to her eyes, furiously wiping more tears from her face; she sniffed loudly, wiping her nose on the back of her hand. "I guess, I just never gave up hoping she was still alive." She added, she laughed lightly. "Stupid isn't it?" she asked, turning to face her companion. Remus shook his head sincerely.

"No." he replied, his voice croakier than he expected. "No, no, it's not stupid." He curled his arm around her shoulders and held her close to him, her head rolled into the crevice between his shoulder and his neck.

"And now she's gone." Jessica breathed; a strangled sob escaped her throat. Remus held her tighter, rubbing her shoulder idly. "And I should be happy today." She mused, Remus wasn't sure if she meant to say that out loud. "After my letter I mean." She corrected, taking a deep breath and sniffing once again. Remus felt his brown furrow, what on earth did she mean? She was in a state of shock and grief, was she babbling nonsense?

"What?" Remus questioned lightly, a teasing tone to his voice.

"I haven't told anyone yet." She answered simply. "But I got a letter yesterday." She sniffed again, her face shimmered with tears, and others pricked at her tear ducts and swam around her eyes, threatening to spill. She pressed her hand deep into the pocket of her robes and pulled out a crumpled piece of white parchment, the edges already ripping. "I've been accepted by the Holyhead Harpies as their new reserve seeker." She announced, despite the awfulness of the day, she managed a small smile. "I'll be the only half-blood on the team, the only witch not of Pureblood. Imagine that?" she mused, leaning closer into Remus, who for a word, was gobsmacked.

"Jess that's amazing! Why didn't you tell any of us?!" he pulled away from her and held her at arm's length. "This is so fantastic! Imagine what James is going to say! Jess I'm so proud of you!" he knew he was beginning to babble but he didn't care! Pulling her into a tight hug, the soft tinkle of her laugh rung out into the relative silence.

"Calm down Remus! It's only a reserve seeker." She tried to explain, but he was having none of it.

"I don't care Jess; you get to play for the Holyhead Harpies! You get the green uniform with Silvers written across the back and your own team number and, oh Jess I'm so happy for you!" releasing her from his grip, she breathed another small laugh, a few tears spilled down her cheeks but she wiped them away with the back of her hand.

"I just keep wondering… wondering what mum would think of it, you know, the Quidditch." She said, her chin dropping into her chest and fingering the delicate calligraphy of her acceptance letter. "Dad would be horrified of course." She exhaled deeply, if it had not been the sombre mood, Remus was sure she would have laughed. "He'd tell me I was wasting my life and that I should get a proper job… then he'd high five me and tell me he was so proud before pulling a Harpies cap out of his back pocket and slapping it on his bald head… and he didn't even understand Quidditch." Her mouth tugged into a small smile, Remus thought her whole face lit up when she smiled. "And mum, well… she'd hug me and tell me I was going to be the best seeker the Harpies have ever had -" her voice broke as a sob surfaced. The tears spilled and all Remus could do was hold her, hold her while she cried. There was nothing that could take the pain away, or the elation of her offer.

Sometimes all you needed was a friend to hold you while you cried, knowing this – Remus sat there, pins and needles spreading up and down his legs, his shoulder cramping at the awkward position, but he ignored that for the sake of Jessica who he held in his arms as she cried.

**Authors note: a sad end to the chapter and I'm sorry **** but I could end it anywhere else, and I certainly couldn't leave the chapter with Jessica still missing, or you'd all kill me! I hate to tell you but the next chapter is going to be quite sad too, but there'll be a ray of hope right at the end :D so you'll have to wait to find out what! Hope you liked this chapter and didn't hate me too much for upsetting Jess – she has lots of people who tell me off for giving her a hard time! **

**A massive thank you for all the reviews on the last chapter, they really encouraged me to write more and to update faster! So remember to review, it might make mu update faster!**

**PS – you may have got emails about me updating the previous chapters, I don't if you will or not, but I have reposted the first eight chapters, I noticed some small grammatical mistakes when I was reading back through them, so I remedied them and reposted them. Then there's a reworked chapter nine and ten for you to enjoy **** thank you for reading my mini essay! Haha **** remember to review!**


	42. Tied Hands

**Chapter 42: **

**Authors note: right, this update has taken me a **_**very **_**long time, if you follow my Tumblr you'll know, this is because of my very important exams that I've had over the last four weeks (and a mammoth revision period before that) so I have had no time to write! But now they're over and I have 14 weeks of study leave so hopefully I'll be able to finish Accio Evans before I (fingers crossed) start university in September **** thank you to hanging in there and all the followers who sent me supportive message son here or on Tumblr, it all just spurs me on and reminds me why I'm writing **** so thank you everyone, having said that, this chapter has not come easily, it has been a real struggle to actually put this together but hopefully you'll like this chapter and it's been worth the wait! (Remember to follow me on Tumblr .com for updates and maybe some snippets too!)**

**PS REWORKED CHAPTER 11 IS UP **

_**Recap: James receives a letter from his father, explaining briefly that Marlene had been arrested but she had now been released, he and Sirius are very confused. Sirius makes to send an angry owl to Marlene to demand what is going on but is stopped by James who knows Marlene will need time. James explains to Lily the intricate family tree of some named Purebloods as well as his own. Jessica is pulled from Potions class and receives news her mother's body has been found, she runs and hides in the room of requirement to grieve. Her friends find out the news from her two brothers who run into Hestia and Alice on the way back to Hogsmeade to apparate home. Her friends are very worried about her. Sirius then receives an unknown letter; it is from Marlene and details her arrest and the events previous. James lets slip about the Marauders Map and Remus suggests they look in the Room of Requirement, the others disregard his idea but Remus goes anyway and finds Jessica there. She is grieving but holds a letter in her hand, she has been offered a position as the Holyhead Harpies reserve seeker, Remus is ecstatic, as is Jess, although she wishes she had her parents to share the news with. **_

He wasn't sure how she did it, but even after she had cancelled her subscription to the Daily Prophet, she always managed to get her hands on a copy. This time the name scrawled across the top was so illegible that even James couldn't read it, this time there was no-one to blame. As Lily's eyes scanned the pages laid out across her Head Girl desk, her eyebrows lifted, so much so that if this carried on, they'd end up in her hairline. James studied her for a moment before interrupting; her auburn hair fell in huge curls that cascaded around her shoulders, her green eyes glittered as she read the printed word but her shoulders had sagged, her body language showed her depression, life inside the castle may not have been too bad for a muggle born witch, but life on the outside was completely different; the house tensions that simmered uncomfortably inside the castle were nothing compared to the world outside, in which instead of throwing dung bombs, they threw curses and instead of getting detention, you ended up dead... James wasn't very good at reading upside down from across the room, but the word _death_ stood out clear as day, and it wasn't hard to work out why.

"Please don't read that." James begged, leaning back in his chair, the paperwork in front of him discarded. Lily's eyes lifted slowly from the page to James' face, seated behind his desk. She gave him a disapproving look before returning her eyes to the page. _Merlin she was stubborn _James mused, with a small smile and a shake of his head.

"Fine." She breathed, pushing the paper from her reach a moment later. The confusion was evident across James features.

"What?" he questioned his tone disbelieving.

"I don't want to read it any more. It's all about people dying and people going missing and it's horrible." She concluded with a sigh. "There's a small write up about Jessica's mum though," she added "not very flattering, so I won't elaborate." James sighed, they'd expected so much. Jessica had been informed of the death a day previous and was still in the hermit phase of denial; she'd been curled up in her bed all day and had missed a whole day of NEWT classes, her friends had brought her the work, but they were very doubtful she'd even look at it. She'd emerged this evening, just as James and Lily were going to fulfil their paperwork in the Heads office looking slightly perkier than she had before, but even that wasn't a great improvement. She had however, happily accepted the food they'd smuggled out from the Great Hall during dinner and munched on it enthusiastically.

The Head students fell into silence, the situation with Jessica's mother had highlighted that even prominent Purebloods were not safe from the prejudicial wrath. Lily worried for James' safety, would he be safe around her? If he was seen with her? If Voldemort found out that James was in love with her, would he target James? She'd voiced her concerns once, late at night on a patrol round the seventh floor corridor, James had laughed and brushed them off, deciding that his heritage as a Potter would make him a target anyway, an old, rich and influential Pureblood family who have a fondness for muggles? Easy targets. Although Lily had calmed slightly at that, she was still immensely worried, part of her told to let go of James, allow him to be safe, but the selfish part of her brain refused, she loved James so much, she couldn't imagine life without his warm embrace, the way he'd look at her and make her knees wobble or the way he kissed her as if she was the most precious thing in the world, it made her head spin just thinking about it.

"The castle hasn't been too bad though has it? Aside from a few things…" James thought aloud, he didn't mention the attack on Lily; she was glad of this, her skin prickled and her head ached at the thought. "I mean," he continued "the prejudice from outside, it hasn't affected Hogwarts too much. Yes, we still have future death eaters roaming the halls, and the attack on _you_ proves it's not fool proof but…" James trailed off, Lily winced; her body temperature subconsciously rose at the mention of the attack, she inhaled deeply and focused on the grain in the wood of her desk to keep her mind from remembering the agony that she had suffered at Mulciber's wand. She couldn't see, but a guilty look crossed James' features, he hadn't meant to upset her, and by the way he was studying the grain on her desk so intently, it was clear the attack was still fresh in her mind…

"I agree," she replied, her eyes still trailed on the grain of her desk "muggle born students haven't been scared to walk to halls; there haven't been attacks every other day like there has been outside." Lily agreed, the castle had been quiet over the past year, the attack on her had been the only serious injury all year; she liked to think it was because of the increased Prefect patrols and the leadership of her and James as Head Students, even herself as a beacon of hope for other muggle born students as they saw her Head Girl badge, but knew she was just kidding herself. Albus Dumbledore was the reason the school had stayed safe, his influence could be felt in every inch of the castle, even corner of every classroom, every inch of every corridor, no space was unaffected by him, and that influence was what kept the students safe. Distracting herself, she took hold of a detentions lip, filled out in Alice's neat handwriting and dipped her quill into a pot of ink, trying to distract herself from James' curious gaze from across the room. She pressed heavily into her quill as she signed her initials at the bottom of a detention slip, so much so that end of the quill snapped suddenly and splattered ink across the paper and her face.

"Ugh!" she exclaimed, if the atmosphere had been more playful, James may have laughed, but the situation warranted care not amusement. Quickly, James signed his name with a flourish at the bottom of the form he had been filling out and rose from his chair. Crossing the room quickly to Lily's desk, with a small smile, wiping a spot of ink from Lily's face cheek with his thumb.

"Just about sums the state of everything up at the minute, don't you think?" she tried to joke however, she looked like she'd burst into tears any second, James nodded as he smoothed the blue ink from Lily's porcelain skin with the sleeve of his robes. He didn't know what had come over Lily recently, she had never been one to cry, not properly anyway, yet recently at the smallest provocation, she would burst into tears that fell thick and fast. Everyone else put it down to exam stress, but James knew her too well to know it wasn't that, Lily revelled in exam pressure; it was where she flourished, but this… this was something completely different, and James was unsure of what.

"Come on." James soothed, pulling Lily from her chair and vanishing the blue spots of ink from her pristine white shirt with a flick of his wand. "Let's call it a night?" he asked, Lily nodded enthusiastically despite her watery eyes.

"If I see another detention form, I might actually explode." She laughed lightly with a wipe of her eyes. James grinned back and took her hand, guiding her out from behind her desk and towards the door. The door to the Head Students office shut behind them with a soft click, as did the door to the Prefect Room.

The cold chill of the empty corridor hit them like a brick wall; it was quite easy to forget how low the temperature dropped to within the cold stone walls of the castle when you'd been cooped up in a small office heated by a roaring fire for the last however many hours. Despite the late spring Lily still felt an unconscious shiver run through her body. As the spring sunshine dipped behind the burnished copper horizon, Lily and James made their way, still hand in hand, along the corridors towards the Gryffindor common room. Lily felt the silence of their trip oddly reassuring, calming even. Lily's mind had just started to wander when she felt herself tugged back sharply back by James from around the corner of the corridor, his finger pressed to his lips, urging her to stay silent. Somewhat frustratedly, she stared back at James; she was just about to demand to know what on earth he was playing at when she heard a voice that she recognised…

"Now, now, play nice. We wouldn't want anything to happen to that pretty little girlfriend of yours now would we?" the voice threatened, there was a sound of scuffling.

"Let go of me!" another voice ordered, a third voice laughed. Lily felt sick, she knew that voice, but they should be out on a patrol on the other side of the castle, what were they doing here?

"Wouldn't want anything to happen to Vance now would we? If she had an accident it would be tragic." The third voice drawled. James visibly tensed; he'd recognised the voices too…

"Shut up Avery." The second voice demanded, the other two cackled.

"Seems he's got more spirit than we gave him credit for!" the first voice chuckled. Daring the peak around the corner of the corridor, Lily's worst fears were confirmed; there was Avery and Mulciber stood a few paces away from Benjy Fenwick who was being held against the wall by wand point, however the one with his wand pressed against Benjy's neck was the person she had least expected to be there… Regulus Black had his wand held uncomfortably against Benjy's neck, pinning him against the wall, Benjy's own wand lay discarded on the floor, out of reach.

"Em's is a big girl, she can look after herself." Benjy snarled back at the other three boys. Lily didn't think she'd ever seen Benjy look so threatening, his chocolate eyes were ablaze with anger and malice; his whispy honey coloured hair was slicked back against his forehead by a long gash that ran half way along his hairline, sticky with blood matted into his fine whisps of hair; his usual air of natural confidence was replaced by one of hatred. Lily had, had enough, she looked back at James and pleaded with her eyes, he shook his head violently, and mouthed 'not yet', but she couldn't just stand there and let them treat her friend like that.

"100 points from Slytherin, each." Lily called out, making herself visible, James hot on her tail. Regulus, who did not look most comfortable to begin with, resembled a rabbit in headlights, his eyes flicked quickly between James and Lily, panic breaking out across his features, his wand arms slackened against Benjy's neck.

"Honestly," Avery drawled with a wave of his hand. "there's nothing going on here Evans, we were just having a little discussion with Benjamin here, weren't we Fenwick?" he added with a smirk.

"Or, y'know you could have dragged me from my rounds and attacked me?" Benjy sarcastically retorted. Mulciber rolled his eyes.

"Drop it Avery, we all know what you were doing." James growled "Now leave." He added imperiously; remarkably, Regulus released Benjy from his wand end. Mulciber and Avery glared on in disbelief at Regulus, who seemed shocked by his own actions, staring in disbelief at his own hands. Benjy rubbed his neck roughly, the blood along his hairline glistened as it matted in with his blonde locks. James was about to dock more points and hand out a hefty amount of detentions when they were interrupted.

"What's going on here guys? Nothing against the rules I hope? Oh look at that, it's after curfew – I'll have to dock ten points to all those who aren't Head Students or Prefects, sorry guys." The figure of Professor Bensheath was a welcome disruption as he strode down the corridor, his navy robes billowing lightly as she walked, the Defence against the Dark Arts Professor, was young, maybe only 25, with chocolate brown hair that curled until it reached his ears. His eyes, a mossy green, glinted mischievously. "I hope I didn't disrupt anything? James?" he asked, the Head Boy smirked.

"Mr Avery, Mulciber and Mr have been terrorising Mr Fenwick here, I think that deserves at least a week of detentions, don't you think? Maybe scrubbing the great hall floor with a toothbrush?" James suggested, the young Professor snorted a laugh. Mulciber glared at the Professor in front of him, Mulciber and co had made their opinion quite clear about the Professor, who had made no secret that his parents were both muggles; this of course made him an object of hatred for Mulciber, Avery, Wilkes and the rest of their cronies. To everyone else however, professor Bensheath was a breath of fresh air, he was young and understood they didn't need to be lectured on the theory of magic, they needed to _use _magic, getting his classes to participate in practical lessons as often as possible and rewarding points for the appropriate use of spells in his classroom.

"Not quite James, but you can clean to trophy room with Mr Filch." Mulciber growled low in his throat, Avery looked positively murderous and Regulus looked like he might be sick. "Now, off to bed with you all!" Professor Bensheath chivvied with a clap of his hands. Mulciber and Avery skulked away, sensing defeat, Avery dragging Regulus by the scruff of his collar. Once the Slytherin students were out of ear shot, Professor Bensheath turned to James, Lily and Benjy, his playful mood replaced by a more serious tone as he eyed the weeping gash across Benjy's forehead with worry. "Now, tell me what happened." Benjy relayed his half of the story, he'd been out on his Prefect patrols, his partner (Danha Greengrass, a fellow Slytherin seventh year) had felt ill so he'd told her to go to bed, he'd patrolled solo for around 15 minutes when he was distracted by something in the next corridor, he'd gone to investigate but had been hit by a spell from one of the Slytherin boys, he fell down and that's how he figured he'd cut his head, however, of that he could not be sure. They'd then marched his at wand point to where he'd been found, Benjy supposed as it was closer to the Slytherin common room for an easy getaway, should it be needed. Then James took over the narrative and filled in the Professor how they had stumbled across the scene and how Lily delved in to protect Benjy, docking points, flanked by James. The Professor nodded as the students spoke.

"Well, I think you need to go and see Professor Dumbledore, immediately." He concluded.

"But Professor, we saw them! Me and Lily saw them, and Benjy here has the massive cut across his head, I'm pretty sure that is evidence! Plus Professor Bensheath came; he saw the three of them!" James exclaimed, pacing across the headmaster's office.

"I'll sign whatever you want me to; I'd testify I needed to, whatever it takes to get them expelled." Benjy added, nodding enthusiastically.

"Me too." Lily added. James stopped pacing and leant on the back of Lily's chair, exchanging an uneasy glance with the Ravenclaw Prefect sat in the other, before all turning to face the Headmaster to hear his verdict.

"I think Lily had already doled out the greatest punishment I can give to the three boys." He finally said regretfully.

"What do you mean?!" Lily questioned. "all I did was take points, and to be honest I don't really think those boys care about winning the house cup!" she added, her voice getting louder and louder with every word until she was virtually shouting at the Professor, who shifted uncomfortably in his seat under her intense glare; if the situation had been less tense James might have laughed.

"I'm afraid," the Headmaster paused but Lily urged him to carry on. "there is not a great deal that can be done." He finished.

"What?! Why not?! They have attacked a Prefect and a Head Girl and you can't do anything except dock points?!" James demanded, his hands gripping Lily's chair so hard his knuckles had turned white.

"They have family in influential places Mr Potter, as you may remember I did expel Mr Mulciber as a result of the attack on Miss Evans, however, as Mr Mulciber Senior is on the board of governors he was able to reinstate his son and allow him to return to his classes, all while sweeping the incident under the rug. I could expel Calix once again; however this would be a waste of time as he would be reinstated by tomorrow afternoon at the latest. I do however; feel keeping him within Hogwarts may be to our advantage, what is the saying? _Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer?_" the Professor answered.

"Bullshit." Benjy replied. Lily was taken aback, she wasn't sure she had ever heard the normally polite Benjy ever swear before, James too seemed equally surprised. Professor Dumbledore however, seemed unfazed by Benjy's outburst. "I apologise for my language Professor Dumbledore, but I'll repeat it, that is complete and utter bullshit! So because their dads are influential, they can basically get away with anything?! And how on earth is keeping them at the school where they can recruit for the death eaters a good thing?!" James raised an eyebrow. "Oh come off it Potter, we all know they're death eaters in training!" Benjy replied, James couldn't help but nod in agreement. "If they're still at Hogwarts, they are free to recruit for the Death eaters and attack more innocent students." Benjy continued. The Headmaster stared back at the three students over the top of his half-moon spectacles.

"I'm afraid Mr Fenwick, you are right." He replied with a sigh, Benjy threw his arms up the air and scoffed. "We can however, subject him to a strict curfew which can be enforced by his head of house. I will subject Mr Mulciber, Mr Avery and the young Mr Black to an eight o'clock curfew in which they must report to Professor Slughorn. I also motion that we increase the Prefect patrols and I will advise the Professors to take a late night stroll around the castle in order to increase our vigilance and presence around the castle." Lily sighed, James shook his head in disappointment, Benjy looked defeated; they were disheartened but they all knew this was the best they were going to get. They were angry, they were frustrated, but they couldn't take that out on the Headmaster, all they would gain was a detention… It was obvious the Headmaster's hands were tied on the issue. They nodded numbly, Lily mumbled something about sorting out the patrol schedule in the morning and they made their way to leave.

"Students," Dumbledore called out, just as they were about to leave the office. "I sincerely apologise." James sighed deeply, before replying.

"Me too Professor." Before the three of them filed down the stairs, the only noise breaking the silence: their feet slapping the stone floors. The three of them walked in uncomfortable silence for a few moments, not even sure where they were walking, but just walking. "You should probably go to the Hospital wing for that." Lily advised a moment later, breaking the silence and gesturing towards the cut across Benjy's forehead; Lily had hastily tried to heal it as Professor Bensheath (who had documented the injury) had lead them to the Headmaster's office, but it didn't loom to be very successful as the skin was already splitting and begin to weep once again, it looked incredibly painful, although Benjy just shrugged.

"I'll find Beth; she's great at healing charms." He replied flatly, checking his watch, it read quarter past eleven, with any luck Beth, the sixth year Prefect, would still be awake and he wouldn't have to wake up the entire Ravenclaw sixth year girls dorm to find her.

"You want us to walk you back?" James offered. Benjy shook his head.

"I'll be okay, think I need to be alone for a while anyway, but thanks." He replied. James and he clapped each other on the back and Lily offered a hug, before they parted their ways and headed back to their common rooms.

"You're back late!" Remus teased "get lost on the way back from the Heads office?" he added, as Lily and James made their way lethargically through the portrait hole, Remus and Hestia were still awake, engaged in a game of gobstones, in which Hestia seemed to be losing terribly, but upon seeing their friend's faces, Remus changed tact. "What happened?" he questioned. James tried to dismiss his friend's question with a wave of his hand but Lily answered.

"Benjy was attacked, we found him on the way back." She was surprised at the matter-of-fact manner in which they rolled the statement her tongue; it seemed relaying bad news to her friends was becoming normal for them.

"Merlin, is he okay?" Hestia asked, turning from the game to the Head Boy and Girl.

"He's got a nasty cut but he's okay." James replied. Remus exhaled with relief, but in reality there was nothing to be relieved about. "Dumbledore can't do anything either, his hands are tied." The four of them collectively sighed, that is as much as they had expected.

"Do they know who it was?" Hestia added, although it wasn't hard to guess who would be the culprits…

"Who do you think?" James replied, Remus rolled his eyes.

"Should have known." Remus muttered darkly as he tossed a gobstone between his left and right with surprising ease.

"Mulciber, Avery and… Black…" Lily confirmed, Hestia's eyes widened and Remus leant forward at the final name.

"Black? As in Regulus Black?" Hestia said, all Lily could do was nod, she was feeling as angry and disbelieving as Hestia evidentially was, judging by the cocktail of emotions playing across her face.

"Jeez." Remus breathed, running his hand through his sandy coloured hair.

"I don't believe it…" Hestia added with a shake of her head.

"We all knew who he was running with, we should have expected it." James pointed out, he didn't however, seem pleased about his assessment. Silence fell upon the four Gryffindor's until Hestia jumped in.

"Sirius mustn't find out." She pleaded. "Please don't tell him." James was about to reply how utterly stupid that was, to try and hide something from Sirius, but was cut off by the man himself, appearing at the bottom of the stairs, dressed in pyjamas and a yawn gracing his aristocratic features.

"Don't tell me what?" Sirius interrupted sleepily, James opened his mouth to spill everything to Sirius, from the attack on Benjy, to his brother's involvement, but was cut off by Hestia.

"Nothing babe, it's not important, we can discuss it in the morning." She replied with a dazzling grin, Sirius nodded drowsily.

"You coming up, Moony, Prongs?" Sirius asked, gesturing towards the stairs to their dormitory, the other two Marauders mumbled their goodnights to the girls and followed their heavy-eyed fellow Marauder up to their dormitory, leaving the two girls alone in the common room, Hestia still sat in front of the half completed game of gobstones, Lily stood awkwardly behind.

Hestia turned back to her best friend.

"He can't find out Lily." She pleaded, but Lily didn't know how they could keep it a secret, surely the whole school would know by tomorrow, it would be nigh on impossible to keep his brother's involvement from Sirius. "It would ruin him." Hestia added. Lily didn't know how they could keep it from the mischievous Marauder but begrudgingly agreed after a pleading look from Hestia. "Thank you." The half-blood witch breathed, jumping over the back of her sofa and embracing her friend in a tight hug.

"Let's just call it a night, I think I could sleep for a whole day with how I feel right now." Lily yawned as she dragged herself up the stairs to their dormitory.

But Lily couldn't sleep; everything just suddenly seemed so real, so close right now. There was only a few short months before she had to leave the safety of the castle, and even that was becoming less so, tonight night had proved that; Benjy was a half blood, and yet he was still attacked, just for being there. Lily ever felt really unsafe in the castle, that was not the case, it was still the safest place around, but it was just that outside the castle, the world would be a bigger, scarier place. She could barely cope with the house tensions within the castle, let alone outside it. Fuelled by heightened emotions, the castle was quickly becoming a verbal battlefield, Lily had lost count of the times _mudblood_ had been hissed at her, she'd let it roll off her shoulders, but the Marauders and her friends had seemed less forgiving; James had received detention earlier that week for threatening to punch Wilkes in the face after he insulted Lily in front of him, not to mention Sirius who had been issued 6 in the last month alone…

With her mind whirring, Lily hadn't even noticed the soft tapping at the window near her bed; it was only when Hestia stirred in her bed and rather crossly glared at the window did she actually notice.

"Lily Evans, I know you are awake, so if you don't sort out that sodding bird at the window I'll string you up by your thumbs, I am trying to sleep." With another glare towards the window, Hestia turned over, pulling her pillow over her head to try and block out the noise, Jessica and Alice didn't seem to have noticed the noise as they snored softly in their beds.

"What bird?" Lily asked, breaking out of her reverie. Although, as soon as she said it, it sounded pretty stupid, as she looked towards the window, she caught sight of one of the school's brown and speckled owls sat on the small window ledge outside, tapping the glass window pane impatiently.

"_That_ sodding bird." Hestia mumbled out from under the pillow, although that was at least what Lily thought she had said, knowing Hestia it could have been much more expletive… Stepping out of bed cautiously, Lily had come to fear unexpected letters at odd times; recently no good news had come from unexpected letters from strange owls. The owl let her untie the letter from its leg and place the envelope, a heavy yellowish parchment that felt like it contained several sheets of similar parchment, on the edge of her bed. Lily returned to the window to shut it, expecting the bird to have already flown off into the night, but she was mistaken, the owl was staring back at Lily expectantly, then it dawned on the Head Girl, the owl wanted a treat… but she had none, Lily hadn't bought her own owl, it had seemed silly when there were plenty of school owl's she could use, not to mention they were bloody expensive. Hestia had her own owl, but Lily didn't know if she had treats for it and if she did, if she kept them somewhere in easy reach that wouldn't wake up the whole dormitory… she was left empty handed. Lily stroked the owl's orange coloured beak.

"Sorry, I don't have anything." She whispered. If an owl could roll its eyes, she was sure this owl would have done, before it begrudgingly spread its wings and soared off into the night. Lily snapped the catch on the window shut with a loud click, she noted Hestia must have drifted back off to sleep as she didn't stir or mumble a protest, and returned to her bed.

The parchment of the envelope was thick and slightly rough against her skin. Written in green cursive, that she knew the handwriting but couldn't think where from, _Seventh Year Gryffindor girls: Lily Evans, Hestia Jones, Jessica Silvers, Alice Prewett. _Curiosity getting the better of her, she ripped open the envelope, careful not the rip any of the pieces inside or to wake her dorm mates, they'd definitely not be pleased with her if she did! Tipping the envelope upside down, four smaller envelopes fell out, they were the same thick parchment which the outer envelope had been and along the front of each envelope each of their names were written in the same cursive green print. Locating the one bearing her name, she flipped the envelope open and pulled out the parchment from inside. Quickly scanning the letter, she wasn't surprised to find the text written in the same cursive print that had graced the outside of the two outer envelopes. Her eyes settled on the top of the parchment and began to read:

_Lily Evans, I invite you, and several others, to a private meeting at my office next Friday at 9PM prompt. Please do not be late. _

_ . _

_And remember Skittles are my favourite sweets. _

Lily hadn't been so perplexed by anything in a long while, the cryptic message, the middle of the night owl sending, and why it was delivered to their dormitory and not to the breakfast table as would be the norm, as well as the confusing afterthought tagged on the bottom of her letter, she had no idea why the Headmaster would want to tell her his favourite sweets were skittles (coincidentally she thought, after the New Year's do at her house, they were James' favourite too). For a few moments, she sat in silence staring absently at the parchment in front her, she read it three more times and yet she was still none the wiser as to what the message meant. Climbing out of bed as quietly as she could, she placed the corresponding letter on the bedside table of the right girl, and retired to her bed. She wanted to sit and stare at the parchment, to work out what the message could mean, but suddenly she was overcome by a wave of tiredness that was both unexpected and unwanted, folding the parchment, she let it drop onto the stone floor beside her bed as she slipped into the consciousness of sleep.

**Authors note: so that's this chapter, I hope it was worth the wait **** what do you think could be in the letters? And what do you think is going to happen to the seventh year Gryffindors? Let me know what you think, who knows, if I really like your idea, I might incorporate it into the plot **** massive thank you again for being so supportive during my absence, unfortunately my college work has to come first, but with all the favourting and following, as well as the Tumblr and FF messages I received, it just made me realise how much I appreciate every single one of you – it's cliché I know, but you guys really mean a lot to me **** so thank you for being so understanding! Well, thank you for reading and remember to review! Hopefully it won't be as long until the next chapter ;) TTFN xxx **


	43. Unexpected News

**Authors note: so, it has been a few weeks since my last update, but I've just had no time to write! But now I am on holiday and it is raining, so I'm curled up alone in our apartment overlooking the beach on my mums bed as the rain pours down outside with a warm bagel, hot chocolate and a massive piece of lemon cake listening to rain hitting the window pane and The Script blaring out from the laptop as I write this, so I don't think there will ever be a more perfect time to finish this chapter so I'm making the most of it! Hopefully you'll enjoy **** PS its A-Level (those horrible exams I was doing!) results on Thursday, so fingers crossed for me guys! Positive thoughts – send them my way!**

_**Recap: after a night pouring over paperwork in the Head Student office, James and Lily stumble across Mulciber and Avery threatening their friend Benjy Fenwick, flanked by Regulus Black. Against James' better judgment they interrupt and attempt to put the situation to an end, they are backed up the defence against the dark arts Professor Bensheath who doles out detentions and takes the Head Students and an injured Benjy to Dumbledore's office – his hands are tied, there is not much he can do. James and Benjy are angry but understand the Professor's position. They return to the common room to Hestia and Remus and relay the news, Hestia makes them promise not to tell Sirius of his brother's involvement, for fear of upsetting him. They reluctantly agree. In the middle of the night, Lily and the other girls receive letter summoning them to Dumbledore's office the following Friday. **_

**Chapter 43: **

"Evans!" Lily broke out of her daydream as Hestia's shout came from the other side of the shower curtain. Inwardly groaning, she was just beginning to enjoy the feeling of the warm water soothing her tired skin.

"What?" she moaned, the shampoo suds were still lathered thick into her auburn curls, it would take at least five minutes to get them all out, especially those troublesome few around her temples that never wanted to rinse out.

"I can't hear you! Turn the shower off!" Hestia shouted over the sound of running water. Lily sighed, getting rid of the suds was no problem, she could rid her hair of them in seconds with her wand, it was just that she liked doing it herself, it made her feel slightly more connected with the muggle world when all she was surrounded by was magic; that, and she did not appreciate her morning shower being interrupted by a best friend who clearly did not understand the importance of these few precious moments when all was clear, calm and silent – bar the tinkle of running water. Begrudgingly, she flicked off the shower and took the towel that Hestia was holding around the edge of the shower curtain. Frustratedly Lily flicked the curtain away and wrapped the towel around herself as Hestia stood, still clad in an old Quidditch jersey (which undoubtedly belonged to Sirius) and the shortest pair of shorts Lily had ever seen, with a heavy yellow parchment letter clasped between her hands. The sight was strange, not Hestia standing there, as she quite frequently barged in on Lily's showers (much to the Head Girl's annoyance) to ask advice on an outfit or whether to wear the silver or the bronze eye shadow, but Hestia looked nervous – that was unusual (Hestia was usually the most confident and outgoing of the group of four girls), that coupled with the dog eared faded yellow parchment in her hands proved to be the oddest end to a shower Lily had, had in some time.

"You alright?" Lily asked with a small laugh, wrapping the fluffy towel tighter around her body and using her wand to rid her hair of a thick lather of suds which seemed to have escaped Hestia's notice. "You look like you're about to throw up or something." She joked, although it wasn't too much of an exaggeration, Hestia did look rather queasy; her normally clear cheeks were twinged with a pale yellowish green and she was blinking more often than needed – something which it was well known amongst her friends that she did when anxious or extremely excited.

"Tell me you got one of these too?" she asked, ignoring Lily's question and holding up the parchment. For a moment or two, Lily was completely perplexed as to what on earth Hestia was talking about, but then it dawned on her – the strange letter she'd received in the middle of the night, along with the accompanying ones for her friends that she had placed on their bedside cabinets. To be quite frank, she had forgotten all about the letter until Hestia had mentioned it – that wouldn't do would it? Missing an audience with Dumbledore because you'd completely forgotten you received a mysterious letter in the middle of the night… Lily nodded, she mentally dismissed the letter as probably an arranged career meeting or end of term plans, maybe even what day they needed to vacated their rooms by, but Hestia's apprehensive expression prickled at her curiosity.

"What could Dumbledore want with us?" Hestia questioned. The thin layer of water still smoothed across Lily's skin from her shower was cooling rapidly and an involuntary shiver rippled down her body. Lily was about to retort that they'd been to Dumbledore's office hundreds of times and quip that this was probably nothing, before frustratedly stomping from the bathroom, cold and annoyed at having her shower interrupted, but when it dawned on her – this wasn't James, this was Hestia, Hestia who had never visited Professor Dumbledore's office before. Hestia whose school record was less than spotless (with countless detentions for failing to hand in homework, being out after curfew, or the three she served in fourth year for being caught in a broom cupboard with Fabian Prewett), but there had been nothing overly disruptive or serious enough to warrant a trip to the Headmaster's office. To a Head Girl, a call to see Dumbledore seemed normal enough, a twice weekly occurrence maybe, but to someone who didn't hold the position and had never been called there before, it must have been a daunting prospect. Throughout her Head Student business Lily, it seemed, had become oblivious to the rarity of student visits to the elusive office of Albus Dumbledore. Her demeanour instantly calmed.

"It'll be nothing." Lily soothed, flashing Hestia an encouraging smile and following her wary friend out into their dormitory, where Alice and Jessica were both sat uncomfortably on their beds. Biting her nails, it was Jessica who first saw them; she dropped her hands quickly at the sight of Hestia who had always badgered her about the habit. Alice failed to notice them, laid back on her bed she seemed to be muttering to herself, something about the Auror Academy, Lily had no idea why.

"Lily says it'll be nothing, but would Dumbledore have really sent us all one if it was nothing?" Hestia quizzed once they were back out in the open of the dormitory her tone slightly calmer that it had been a minute previously. Lily wrapped herself up in a dressing gown and turned back to her three friends who were all eyeing her apprehensively.

"We're getting expelled, I know it and just before NEWTs as well." Alice muttered. Lily almost laughed, but she withheld it for her friend's sake.

"Calm down guys, it'll be nothing. Dumbledore probably just wants to talk about our plans for next year or something; we _are _meant to have career meetings before our NEWTs, so it's probably that." Lily tried to reason. Hestia seemed to have been reassured somewhat as she exhaled heavily and slumped down on Lily's bed, although Jessica and Alice didn't seem convinced.

"Are you sure?" Jessica probed nervously.

"Yes!" Lily laughed "Now get dressed Miss Jessica! I know you don't really feel like going to class but I'm not letting you mope around on your own again and miss a whole day of NEWT classes just because you're sad. Get dressed or you'll be late for breakfast." Lily chivvied, gesturing for her friends to get ready. Jessica sighed before realising her friend was right, as Lily pulled on her school robes Jessica realised she should probably do the same. She'd had missed an entire day of classes yesterday and virtually an entire day before that (bar all of five minutes of Potions), at this rate she'd fail her exams… but the ache in her chest still weighed as heavily as before. When she had woken that morning she half expected a letter from her mother to come flying through the window attached the leg of the family owl and for a bleary moment after waking she believed the letter on her bedside cabinet was from her mother and was disappointed to realise the cursive print across the front was not one she recognised and definitely not that of her mother. She sighed as she pulled herself from her sitting position and made to get a clean pair off school robes from her wardrobe, she knew that was silly to think that she'd receive a letter from her mother, considering her mother had been dead to her before the news had come on Wednesday morning, but it didn't make it any easier to deal with. Having said that, the grief was less significant than back in September when she'd received word of her father's demise and her mother's imminent disappearance. Maybe it was the time she'd had to come to terms with her father's death, or maybe it was just that death was a more prominent feature of life these days, but she felt like she was still able to carry on, whilst still grieving. Heeding her friend's advice, Jessica dressed quickly and followed Alice out of the dormitory and down to breakfast, quickly flanked by Hestia and Lily who was still pulling her hair up into a ponytail but did not want her friends to leave without her.

The boys were woken at a quarter to seven by a rapping at their door and Frank Longbottom barging in before they'd had chance to even recognise that he had knocked at the door. Bleary eyed and half asleep, it had been Peter who had first greeted Frank with a cheery salutation, well as cheery as someone could be when unexpectedly woken from a sleep that they believed they still had another 45 minutes of, and then abruptly asked what on earth he thought he was doing awake at this time of the morning. By this stage, Remus was stirring in his bed and James was rubbing his eyes before searching for his glasses that for some reason were on Sirius' bedside table, the man himself was still sleeping soundly – and as if to prove it, let out a large snorting snore. Frank then went on to hurriedly explain the letter he had found on the window sill of his dorm this morning when he had woken. James admitted that he had no idea what Frank was talking about when Sirius, who it now seemed had awoken, pointed out that there were several similar letters resting on _their_ windowsill. If Frank had not seemed so wound up, the scene may have been comical. James was the first to haphazardly tear open the heavy parchment of the letter bearing his name – he quickly scanned the green cursive and discovered a summons to Professor Dumbledore's office the following Friday at 9PM, a reminder not to be late and a note that Dumbledore's favourite sweets were skittles, coincidentally so were his. The other three Marauders followed suit and one by one turned to face Frank, Remus shrugged.

"Could be anything." He noted. "I wouldn't fret -" but was cut off by a sharp intake of breath from Sirius.

"You don't think he… he knows about the _thing?_" he asked suspiciously, eyeing each of his friends in turn.

"What thing?" James replied quizzically.

"You know, the _thing_…" Sirius replied.

"The thing?" Peter added, as befuddled as James was looking.

"Oh, you mean the _thing._" Remus clarified.

"You meant the _thing?"_ James replied. "You should have said!" James exclaimed.

"I still have no idea what you're talking about." Peter admitted, exchanging unknowing glances with Frank who, bewildered, had sunk down onto the spare bed and was watching the exchange was amazement as well as complete confusion.

"You know Pete, the _thing_." Sirius explained. Peter's face cleared and he finally understood.

"Ahh, the _thing_…" he mused. "eech." He recoiled. "You don't suppose Dumbledore knows about that?" he asked his friends who were all wearing identical expressions of horror as they thought over Dumbledore knowing of the _thing_.

"He can't!" Sirius protested. "Frank doesn't know of the _thing_ and he got a letter too!" as if she reiterate the point, Frank nodded dramatically, as if on cue.

"I think we're safe then." James concluded, all thoughts of sleep now discarded from his brain. "Wonder what he wants with us though? We haven't caused much mischief recently with NEWTs and all, so it couldn't be that…" he trailed off.

"Or maybe he figured out that it was you and Sirius who filled Filch's shoes with Hippogriff dung last term?" Remus offered with a grin, remembering the look on the caretaker's face when he had been informed what had been poured into his boots by Hagrid who couldn't help but hide a smirk.

"They have no proof." Sirius protested, crossing her arms and pouting. Remus smiled and shook his head.

"And it couldn't be Prefect business, because Sirius and Peter have got them, Frank too… so I don't understand." James added, a bemused expression crossing his features. The others fell silent for a moment, until Sirius shattered the silence.

"Well it'll be a nice surprise now, won't it?" he said sarcastically. The others shrugged, until next Friday they had nothing to worry about, even Frank seemed to accept the argument. "Now let's go get breakfast, I'm starving!" he exclaimed, jumping from his bed and heading for the door.

"Sirius?" Frank asked, Sirius turned back to him and gave him an irritated quizzical glance. "Clothes?" he added, gesturing to Sirius' nakedness except for a pair of grey boxer shorts.

"Hmm." He mused, surveying himself as if he had just registered his state of undress. "Maybe I should get dressed – imagine McGonagall's face if it turned up to breakfast like this, she'd have heart attack!" he joked, turning on his heel and heading for the bathroom.

"Imagine Slughorn's face if you turned up to Potions like that." Remus muttered under his breath with a roll of his eyes. James' eyebrow rose at the thought, Peter and Frank smirked. Sirius, however, was blissfully unaware of his friend's amusement on his part as the shower gurgled to life and he launched into a very loud and out of tune rendition of Funky Unicorn's classic _I think I'm in love with a mermaid. _

Throughout the day, James and Lily had been collared by several bemused classmates explaining they had received these strange letters during the night and had no idea what to make of them. The Marauders and Frank had explained the letters to the girls that morning at breakfast, and to their surprise they had received them too, they had all decided - as a rule - not to minion the letters, just in case they were something secretive. The letters had not expressed the need for secrecy, but they thought it best to take precautions. Others seemed to have had a similar idea, only confiding in the Head Boy and Girl or one of their friends. Meghan Daley, the Hufflepuff Prefect had cornered Lily outside Potions and a pretty 7th Ravenclaw by the name of Julia had confided in James before Divination, as well as Cardarac Dearborn, the other Hufflepuff Prefect, who had sought out Remus after lunch. James and Lily were starting to get more curious about the letters, it seemed to be mostly the Prefects who had received them, with some others their fellow Gryffindor's included as well as Julia (who frankly should have got the Prefect job over useless Samia), who had seemed positively terrified when she had approached James that morning. James had done everything he could think of to calm her down before entering the classroom but she had still seemed on edge throughout the day. Now, making their way towards the Prefect meeting, they were shouted from behind, Lily had a feeling she knew why. When James turned round, he was greeted with the sight of Benjy Fenwick breathlessly running down the corridor towards them.

"I've been trying to catch up with you two for the last three corridors!" he exclaimed "Do you realise how fast you two walk?" he grinned, his honey blonde hair flopping over his forehead as he bent double, his palms resting on his knee caps, for a moment to catch his breath, before straightening up to his full height. James shook his head, no he hadn't, his walking speed was something he had never given much thought to, Lily seemed to be able to match his pace so he had never pondered it.

"Your head looks better." Lily remarked, gesturing to Benjy's hairline that less than 24 hours ago had been sticky with blood and the cause of much panic. Benjy nodded, lifting up his hair so the faint pink scar was now visible.

"Beth did a good job." James agreed. Benjy flopped his fringe back over his forehead and nodded again.

"I went to her dormitory last night when she wasn't in the common room. She was up reading luckily, one of her dorm mates woke up when she was sorting my head out though and is now convinced I went up there to snog her. Today she's been telling everyone me and Beth are having a scandalous affair." He laughed, swishing his hair from his eyes. "Ridiculous isn't it?" Benjy grinned.

"Especially since you're still with Emmeline." Lily added without thinking. At Lily's comment, Benjy seemed to clam up.

"Err yeah." He replied uncomfortably, now very interested in his thumb nail, Lily thought it was odd but dismissed it quickly as Benjy pulled a battered heavy parchment envelope from his pocket.

"Ah." James uttered in response. Benjy explained he'd been trying to collar them all day to see what they made of it. In return, James explained that a majority of the Prefects, in fact all prefects (excluding Samia Rain, who they dismissed as an idiot - Benjy agreed and the two Slytherin Prefects, Danha Greengrass and Piers Wilkes) had received one, as well as some other students. Benjy seemed more comforted by the explanation and promised to keep the meeting on the low down as they reached the Prefect room and the door was held open by Cardarac Dearborn whom Lily thanked before taking her place at the top of the table, James at her side.

The meeting was drawing to a close, it had a relatively short one, with exams and such like creeping closer, no-one wanted to be sat in a meeting all night so Lily and James had made a conscious decision to keep their meetings as concise as possible.

"So to round up – please let us know if you can't do a patrol night, don't just change it amongst yourselves, it needs to be on the rota. And a reminder that the girls toilets on the fourth floor is currently out of action due to Moaning Myrtle taking up a temporary residence and playing havoc with the plumbing. Any questions?" James finished, the Prefects were already beginning to fidget in their seats, eager to leave the meeting and head back to their friends and common rooms. James thought it was rather rude - they'd only been here fifteen minutes, surely the Prefects could spare that? It seemed some of them couldn't, Samia was picking at her nail varnish and sighing deeply every few moments as if the meeting was less important than the dirt of her shoes, James wondered how she had ever become Prefect (especially considering Julia was in their year) and Piers Wilkes was flicking rolled up pieces of paper towards Meghan Daley and a fifth year Gryffindor Prefect who were doing a remarkable job of ignoring him. James was just about to give them permission to leave, when the door to the Prefect room was unexpectantly opened and in strode the Headmaster, clothed in robes of sky blue and a wide smile. Samia and Piers seemed interested now! James and Lily stood, as did the majority of the other Prefects, some seemed too stunned by the Headmasters presence to observe school policy. Even as Prefects, an audience with the Headmaster was a rarity.

"Now, now, please be seated." He gestured to the standing students, as he himself took a chair at the opposite end of the table to James and Lily who were eyeing each other with worried glances. "Don't be alarmed." the Professor comforted as he caught sight of a few faces amongst the crowd of Prefects. "I am here to relay good news – I decided that something needs to be done to lift the spirits of the student body at this dark time." Piers exchanged a knowing smirk with Danha but no-one else stirred, hanging on the Headmaster's ever word. "So an idea was put forward by a younger student to their head of house for a _Ball_." Chatter broke out amongst Prefects as they quickly hurried to discuss what they could wear? Who could they ask to be their date? And do you think Sirius Black will be single by the time of the ball?

"It will be after exams of course," the Headmaster continued, the chatter died away almost immediately. "Professor Flitwick will take care of decorations and Professor Bensheath has offered to find caterers. However, I will leave the entertainment and theme up to the Prefects. The Professors will deal with the general running on the night but I want this ball to reflect the students and what better way than to have the students plan it." There was a twinkle in Dumbledore's clear blue eyes as he caught Lily's gaze, she was grinning from ear to ear, the prospect of a ball, getting to dress up and dance the night away with James and her friends was becoming more and more appealing. "The Head students will be in charge-" a few mutters could be heard but no-one protested out loud "and their word is final. Now, I must be going." The Headmaster finished, James and Lily made to stand once again, but were instantly gestured to sit down with a wave of Dumbledore's hand.

"You must remember," he added as an afterthought "exams have priority, I do not expect anyone to do any less than their best because they were up Ball planning until the early hours of the morning before their Transfiguration OWL, is that understood?" the Headmaster questioned, making eye contact with several fifth year Prefects who seemed to shrivel under his gaze, nodding vigorously.

As soon as the door had shut with a soft click, the Prefects launched into a tirade of shouts and requests directed at James and Lily, each voice fighting to be heard over the others.

"Can the students of age have fire whiskey instead of Pumpkin juice?!"

"Can it be fancy dress?!"

"Can there not be a dress code?!"

"Can we invite our friends from outside school to come?!"

"Can we have Frankie and the Hippogriffs to sing?!"

"No! You want Funky Mermaid, they're miles better!"

"Eww! You want Black Thestral to play – they're dreamy!"

Lily put her fingers in her ears to block out the noise. When Dumbledore had said the Head Students were in charge, she highly doubted this is what he meant….

**Authors note: soooo, what do you think? This chapter is shorter than recent updates, but it seemed wrong to carry it on, plus there is going to be some pretty big chapters coming up soon for the final 7 updates **** once again, if you have any ideas for the sequel (or any characters you want to see included) let me know and I'll see if I can fir them into the plan **** thanks for reading and remember to review! xxxx**


	44. Ball?

**Authors note: well, since I last updated there has been A LOT going on for me, I got my A level results and got well over what I needed for my first choice University :D (You might have seen on Tumblr – I was very excited!) so I've been busy with preparing for that, as well a trying to fit time in to work on this update! I'm not 100% sure whether I actually like this update, I'm not quite happy with it, but after rewriting part of it, I think I'm as happy as I'm ever going to be – so if it's a bit pants, I apologise! Massive thank you for all the positive comments on the last chapter, people seem really excited for the ball! Haha and for those of you don't want to follow me on Tumblr – my blog is mainly an awful lot of multi fandom babble – or don't have Tumblr, I am tagging all updates and news from this with the tag **_**Accio Evans**_**, so if you Google that, you should be able to find all my posts (even if you don't have Tumblr!) **** thank you for reading my mini essay, so onwards with the chapter!**

_Recap: Marlene McKinnon is forced to go into hiding, along with her aunt and cousins, to avoid the danger that is surrounding her and urges Sirius not to contact her for both of their safety. _

_Hestia and the girls freak out after they receive their mysterious letters from Professor Dumbledore; Lily manages to calm them down. Meanwhile, the boys are initially calm, but start to panic after Sirius points out Dumbledore may know of their thing, Frank is bemused, but they all calm down and manage to meet the girls at breakfast. _

_James and Lily are collared throughout the day by several other students, worried and confused about their mysterious letters; these include Cardarac Dearborn, Meghan Daley, Benjy Fenwick and a quiet Ravenclaw named Julia. Dumbledore appears at the prefect meeting and announces there will be a ball to lift the student's spirits and the Prefects are to help plan it – James and Lily are in charge as Head Students, but it doesn't go off to a smooth start with them being inundated with outlandish requests, Lily muses this is not quite what Dumbledore had in mind. _

"Class! Class! QUIET!" Professor Sprout yelled to try and be heard over the top of her seventh year NEWT students. Fresh from teacher training, and not long out of NEWTs herself – 7 years to be exact – she could sympathise with her students; properly sympathise, not the artificial kind that some teachers put on – the kind where they'd coo, then ruffle your hair and tell you you'd have done fine. Being told you'd done fine was probably the worst thing someone could say, especially since you weren't sure you _had._ The advantage of being able to sympathise with her students was she was able to reassure her students that it wasn't the end of the world to not do as well in _some _NEWTs and life would go on regardless of whether you got an O or an E in your Charms exam. The disadvantage however, was still a fresh memory of the exams themselves. With her disability to keep her lips sealed, she seemed to have upset the majority of the class when she blurted out that the Auror academy would only accept applicants who got at least four _Outstanding_ grades and at least one of those must be in a core subject; Alice Prewitt had nearly fainted when she'd heard. The blonde witch was currently hyperventilating in the corner being sympathised by an equally hysterical Lily Evans, for whom it seemed the pressure of yet another bad Transfiguration lesson was weighing heavily on her mind. Minerva had quipped earlier that morning in the staff room, for someone so bright it is a marvel how the girl could be so terrible at Transfiguration. Pomena Sprout just hoped that Lily could pull up her marks with the written portion of the exam, so even if she failed the practical she could be in with a chance to snatching an _Exceeds Expectations_, Merlin knows that girl will need every precious mark to succeed in the current climate. However, that is another story for another day.

The class that she had worked so hard to maintain control of had descended into chaos. Frank Longbottom seemed to be the only student was remotely calm, reviewing his notes he was oblivious to the bedlam happening around him. Flicking the page to the next chapter _The advantages and disadvantages of having a mandrake in the garden,_ Frank's attention only returned to the class when Isaac Athold knocked his plant pot from the end of the work bench and sent it spiralling off onto the marble floor with an almighty crash. Shaking his head at the silliness of it all, Frank returned to his textbook.

"But I don't want to fail!" Samia Rain squawked, flapping her arms around, so much so that she was in danger of taking off. "_She _said I need four Oustandings to get into the Auror Academy!" the Professor assumed she was the _she_ Samia was referring to and supressed a smile at Samia joining the Auror Academy, she wouldn't last ten minutes. James Potter seemed to have come to same conclusion if the look he shared with Lily Evans across the room was anything to go by. With all her flapping Samia hadn't noticed the green tentacle creep from the ceramic pot behind her desk and skulk closer towards her desk and curl its way round the table leg, before sneaking up the back of her chair and across her shoulder or the scratch of the green skin as the shoot stretched down the arm of her school robes, swirling around her arm like a olive scaly bangle…

"Alice calm down!" Lily shook her friend's shoulders, but it was useless; Alice was so completely hysterical, thanks to Professor Sprout's interruption, that she seemed unable to process any other thought other than the four O grades that she needed to achieve.

"Lily, I'll never get that!" Alice hyperventilated. That was the final straw, there was no getting through to Alice now… Sighing, Lily gave up trying to comfort Alice; she had herself to think about too! If that last Transfiguration lesson was anything to go by, she was going to get a _Troll_… She groaned, that was just the ammunition those Pureblood supremacists needed to pull her down. She could almost hear them purring now '_poor little mudblood – couldn't even pass Transfiguration! And she wants equal rights? HA, don't make me laugh! Call us when you can actually pass an exam!'_ the thought made her skin crawl.

Lily was temporarily pulled from her own squalor however, not by Alice but by the squeaking of Samia Rain from across the classroom, something about the Auror Academy, _yeah she'd be great there_, Lily thought sarcastically, _I'm sure the Aurors would love someone who fainted at the sight of blood and has no common sense._ Speaking of the Auror Academy… Lily found James' gaze across the greenhouse, he shot her the same kind of quizzical glance she was wearing, it seemed she wasn't the only one who thought Samia would make an awful Auror! Trailing her gaze back at Samia, Lily was surprised to see the green limb of the plant curling towards her, around the table leg, up the back of her chair, before creeping tentacle fashion over Samia's shoulder and sneaking down towards the exposed skin on her wrist. Before Lily even had time to comprehend what was going on, Samia let out an ear piercing scream.

"IT BIT ME! PROFESSOR THE _PLANT_ BIT ME!" recoiling fast as lightening, the limb of the plant took refuge from the noise, curling up at the bottom of its pot; it seemed, it didn't enjoy the loud noise any more than the rest of the class. A majority of the seventh year Herbology students were massaging their ears; Benjy – sat three seats down from Samia – was waggling his finger around in his ear canal wondering if it was actually possible to go deaf from someone's scream. Professor Sprout was visibly suppressing an eye roll as she made her way across the greenhouse to where Samia was holding her wrist tightly as though it may fall off.

"Will… will they have to a-a-amputate?" she whimpered, as the Herbology |professor inspected the two small spots of blood on the outside of the Prefect's wrist.

"I don't think so Miss Rain. It looks like you disturbed the Venomous Tantacula with your loud voices." At least Samia had the decency to look ashamed, she shot the plant pot an apologetic look – the inhabitant was now, it seemed, hiding until the noise subsided. "I think we should probably get Madame Pomfrey to check you out though, it's not a deep bite so I doubt you'll have any of its venom in your system, but we should probably air on the side of caution. Class dismissed!" she added as she lead Samia, who had now burst into tears, out the classroom and towards the castle. Alice seemed to have forgotten about her own woes as she watched in awe as Samia was led away by an irritated looking Professor Sprout and a few members of the class who already had packed away and eager to make the most of their free time before the next period. Alice turned to Lily who was failing in her attempt to hide a smile at Samia's expense.

"Well, if all else goes pear shaped," Alice giggled "at least we're better at Herbology than Samia!"

"Hey! Jess! Wait up!" turning round, Jessica was greeted the sight of Benjy Fenwick, who had tailed her out of the greenhouse, jogging up the path towards her, his satchel banging against his thigh. As Benjy closed in, Jessica realised he looked nervous, a light sheen of perspiration was coating the tanned skin of his forehead and in the warm light, he was looking slightly green around the edges. Straightening out his hair, he failed to meet her gaze. Benjy forced a smile, although Jessica concluded it was more of a grimace; she didn't want to mention it and fought the itching urge to ask if Benjy was okay. It seemed she didn't have chance as Benjy continued to talk.

"Um…err…I was wondering if…erm… would you like to… erm – this is harder than I expected – umm, would you like to go to the ball with me?!" Benjy stammered, Jess wasn't sure if she was more surprised by the stuttering or the fact that he may have just asked her to the ball.

"Excuse me?" Jessica squeaked, praying that she hadn't somehow imagined what Benjy was saying like some deranged fantasy, when in fact he was asking to borrow her Herbology notes.

Benjy shook his head lightly, a small laugh escaping his throat and a tiny smile pulled at his lips.

"You heard me." He almost laughed, wiping the perspiration from his forehead. "I get it; you don't want to go with me, its fine. Has someone already asked you? Remus? You're going with Remus right? You too seemed to have a thing a while ago, I'm guessing he asked you?" Benjy replied, his speed increasing as the words tumbled from his mouth. A subconscious part of him was yelling inside his head for him to shut shut, shut up, shut up, that he was ruining any chances he had about taking Jessica to the ball, but his mouth didn't seem to understand his brain and continued to babble like a lunatic. Then he noticed Jess was smiling, she didn't look like she was going to _hit_ him but she certainly didn't look sorry…. Oh Merlin, she was going to laugh at him wasn't she? Tell everyone that he asked her to the ball and she turned him down, he would be the Ravenclaw laughing stock! This would be just like the time when Isaac sleepwalked into breakfast… only possibly worse…

"I'd love to Benjy." Jessica agreed. "No-one's asked me, I didn't suppose anyone would! But yes, I'll go the ball with you." Her words took a few moments to register, he meanwhile, he stood staring at her, not quite daring to believe she'd said yes.

"Well, err, that's great! I'll come by your common room and pick you up at say, seven?" he asked, a moment later when he realised she was waiting for him to reply. He was quite surprised he'd actually managed to string a sentence together… Merlin, it hadn't been this hard asking Emmeline out had it? He couldn't remember, it had been so long since he had asked a girl out, well he guessed he'd have to get more used to it now with everything that had happened over the past week… Determined not to think of the letter that was lying in tatters under his bed, he swallowed the lump in his throat, he forced a grin, gave Jessica a hug before following a group of 5th year Hufflepuff students up towards the castle, leaving a bemused but elated Jessica in his wake.

"What did Benjy want?" Alice asked, not really listening for an answer as she unwrapped a chocolate frog and indulgently bit into it. Following behind, Lily guessed it must have been something important, judging by the satisfied smirk that Jessica was trying to subdue. Maybe Benjy had shared some Ravenclaw Quidditch tactics to beat them in a retaliation attack on their team captain who had stolen his coverted armchair in the common room? No, it couldn't be, Gryffindor had already beaten Ravenclaw back in January, and with the Hufflepuff defeat of Slytherin the Saturday two weeks back, it was a Gryffindor/Hufflepuff final, no it couldn't be that…

"Guess who just asked me to the ball?" Jessica teased, as Lily quickly matched the pace of her two companions as they headed back up towards the castle.

"Lewis Carlisle?" Lily offered, who now more interested in the books in her satchel than the conversation. That was something of a dampener on your good mood, Jessica concluded.

"Isaac Athold?" Alice guessed. Jessica sighed; her friends could be clueless when they wanted to be!

"Benjy! _Benjy Fenwick_!" Jessica burst out when her friends couldn't be bothered to put in any more guesses.

"But isn't he going out Emmeline Vance still?" ouch, not the reply she had expected.

"So?" Jessica pouted, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "She doesn't go here anymore."

"Just don't expect to get anything from it." Alice muttered under her breath as she failed miserably to try and wedge her Herbology folder in her satchel. Jessica threw her best friend an icy glare. Eager to avoid being on the receiving end of one of those glares, Lily quickly changed tact.

"Well I'm happy for you Jess. Hey, let's go tell Hestia, I'm sure she'll be thrilled at that – you know she had a crush on him in second year?" Lily tried to avert a crisis, after Alice's initial response Jessica had looked crushed… Nevertheless, her triumphant smirk had returned and she had once again reformed to her jubilant state.

"I forgot about that! Let's go tell her!" Jessica sang as she skipped up towards the castle dragging Alice and Lily up the stone steps and towards the Great Hall where Hestia would undoubtedly be waiting for them.

As Friday drew to a close, the chosen seventh years arrived one by one at the Headmasters office, repeated the password - having all worked out the cryptic message at the bottom of the letter - and were anxiously waiting in Dumbledore's office; the man himself nowhere to be seen. Lily was nervously fidgeting, Hestia was twirling a chocolate coloured strand of hair round her finger and Sirius was having a heated discussion with Peter whether he'd let slip about the _thing_, Lily had no idea what they were talking about but it seemed serious. A group of chairs had been positioned in a semi-circle opposite the Headmaster's desk; the chairs were uncomfortable and did nothing for the knots that were tying themselves all around Lily's body from nervousness. Frank was breathing heavily alongside Julia who looked like she might throw up, Alice was once again chuntering to herself, James and Jessica were bickering about Quidditch tactics, Cardarac was making small talk with Meghan; only Remus on the other side of Lily to James, looked composed.

"How can you be so calm Remus?!" Lily hissed, Remus let out a heavy breath by means of a laugh.

"I haven't done anything wrong, I have nothing to fear." He declared dramatically. Lily was about to retort, he was a Marauder; he had plenty to fear, but stopped abruptly when the unlit fire near the desk began to crackle unexpectedly. The quiet chatter died down as everyone noticed the unanticipated noise; James had reached into his pocket and clasped his fingers around his wand, just in case. Eyeing the fireplace suspiciously, the group jumped backwards in the seats as the hearth burst into life in a cloud of lime fire and covered them in a shower of soot. Lily was sure Meghan may have screamed with the suddenness, but she couldn't be sure. Stepping from the fireplace, the Headmaster brushed down his lavender robes, the group collectively sighed; it was only the side effects of floo powder.

"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you." Dumbledore apologised, nodding at Meghan who looked like she might keel over. Releasing his grip on his wand, James relaxed back into his chair, he didn't need a scare like that when he was wound up, between NEWT classes, Quidditch practices and this secret meeting on top of that, he was quite sure he might have actually fainted if Nearly Headless Nick had so much as said boo to him. "You don't mind do you? I brought a few friends along?" he asked. Before anyone had chance to answer, two figures appeared in the fireplace and the flames of the floor network. Brushing themselves off, out stepped Marlene McKinnon and Emmeline Vance. Lily noticed Benjy physically stiffen at the sight of Emmeline; Jessica felt quite out of place, did Emmeline know her boyfriend had asked her to the ball? If she did, did she know it was _her_? If Jessica had taken a glance towards the former Head Girl, she'd have noticed that Emmeline was deliberately avoiding looking towards the side of the room that included Benjy and was instead focusing on sending her most dazzling smile towards Lily, who seemed delighted at her arrival. Jessica concluded that Emmeline was pretty, in a sort of ordinary way – with medium length straight brown hair and chocolate coloured eyes; she wore a simple black sleeveless dress that brushed her knees in length. She was petite, barely scraping five foot two and with a quiet disposition… but Jessica knew she was a wicked dueller, it seemed when she had become Head Girl she had stepped up to the role in a big way, so much so that she had gone from a girl who had never duelled in her life, to chair of the duelling club in less than six months. Jessica suddenly felt quite sick…

Hestia was well quite aware of Marlene's eyes flicking towards her and Sirius. Slyly looking Marlene up and down, Hestia noted the witch had lost weight, where there had once been heavenly curves, there was now bare skin and bone, the change didn't suit her. Neither did going into hiding Hestia mentally added; Marlene's once perfectly quaffed hair was now thrown up into a loose pony tail and in desperate need of a trim. She was clothed in a pair of dark denim jeans, a creased white shirt and baggy red cardigan, which all hung loose from her slimming frame. It was a stark contrast to the personally tailored and designed robes that had become synonymous with the McKinnon name. The determined fire in Marlene's eyes however, hadn't dimmed; her green eyes seemed more alive than ever before, sparkling as she exchanged a smile with Vance. The close bond between the girls was still evident, even all these months after leaving Hogwarts.

Having said that, the change the Marlene seemed to have undergone in such a short space of time was incredible, she had reformed from the arrogant, well groomed aristocratic lady to the girl who stood before them in ill-fitting clothes with purple shadows hanging under her eyes – but she looked happy, or at least put across a very convincing appearance of being happy.

Hestia felt a lump of sympathy rise in her throat; although her sympathy didn't stop her possessively slipping her hand along the outside of Sirius' thigh and resting her fingers idly on his knee, which she gave a gentle squeeze, more for her own reassurance than anything else. Oblivious to his girlfriend's gesture, Sirius jumped from his seat.

"McKinnon! What are you doing here?!" he exclaimed, embracing Marlene tightly. Jealousy rose inside Hestia, all traces of sympathy now forgotten. Marlene, like Sirius, seemed ignorant to Hestia's glaring; Lily wasn't though, she sent her friend a sympathetic glance, Hestia acknowledged it with a nod and then returned to scowling towards Marlene.

"I'll let Dumbledore explain," she replied. "but this is what I was talking about when I said I was working to make a difference, you know – in my letter!" Marlene added with a smile. "Albus came to collect me and escorted me here, it seems he wants me and Em to inform you in a way he can't…" she trailed off, wondering if she'd said too much already. The blonde witch cast a glance at her former Headmaster, who smiled and gestured to two seats next to his desk, which Marlene and Emmeline gladly took. Lily mused how the two girls, one of whom should have been hiding out in a safe house, could inform them in a way Professor Dumbledore couldn't, when her thoughts were interrupted by a pleading look from Hestia, before shooting a venomous stare towards Marlene, who was still exchanging smiles between James and Sirius.

"Now," Dumbledore began, taking the seat behind his desk. "I have summoned you all here today because I believe you to be among the most gifted and most dependable students here at Hogwarts. Those qualities are exactly the qualities which I value in a person; that is why I wish for you to join a resistance force, the _Order of the Phoenix_." Each seventh year was entranced by the Professor as he detailed what the order stood for, justice, equality, and that they were working to undermine Lord Voldemort and his death eaters and hopefully restore the balance. He explained that they had undertaken 'raids', missions conducted under the cloak of darkness to gather information on the dark lord and his followers, he also implied he had sources within the organisation itself, however, Lily couldn't be sure he whether actually meant that… Marlene added that several order members had undertaken undercover missions, all with varying degrees of effectiveness.

"I wish for you all to join." The Headmaster concluded. "But this is not a feat which must be undertaken lightly, I urge you to go away and think carefully about this offer. If you sign up to the Order, I cannot guarantee your safety. I strive to do the most I can, but I cannot guarantee you will not be harmed or worse…" silence fell upon the room as the weight of the Professor's words settled upon them. It was James who broke the silence.

"My parents are members I'm presuming?"

"Your assumption would be correct Mr Potter. In fact it was your mother and father who were the instigators to Miss McKinnon joining. But I must _stress_, I want you to seriously think about this, you are a mere 18 years old, and this is a serious commitment that comes with a grim amount of risk. However, if we can fulfil what we aim, we might just end this war before it escalates to where we have no control." Dumbledore answered.

Lily exhaled heavily; Jessica was staring intently into her lap. Benjy looked around at the other seventh years before standing.

"I want to join Professor." Lily couldn't help but notice the look of horror that briefly covered Emmeline's face before being replaced by a more neutral expression. "My brother has had to go into hiding Sir. I want to do it for him, and for my dad, he's terrified he'll be next. _I_ want to join the Order of the Phoenix." Lily took a sharp intake of breath, she hadn't realised things were as bad for the Fenwick family, she knew Benjy's older brother Samuel has gotten into some trouble with sneaky characters, but then he'd been doing that since Hogwarts! However, it seemed things had escalated since she had last heard from the older wizard… Marlene nodded slightly and sent a sympathetic glance towards Benjy, Emmeline hung her head, not quite being able to figure out why, Lily focused more on the reaction of the Headmaster, so much so that she almost missed Emmeline turn and address Benjy. "Benjamin," Emmeline stressed. Lily almost giggled; she didn't think she'd ever heard someone call him Benjamin before! Benjy rolled his eyes, an affronted expression crossing his features. "This is serious, please think on this some more, and don't make a rash decision…" Emmeline was almost pleading. Benjy scoffed, an obvious tension hung in the air. Jessica was flicking her gaze from Emmeline to Benjy and back to Emmeline, hoping that she wasn't the cause of the blatant tension between Hogwarts golden couple.

"It's none of your concern Emmeline, my actions are of no consequence for you-" Benjy countered, but was interrupted by the Professor.

"I thank you Mr Fenwick, but I will not be accepting your applications until you have left the school. I couldn't have students running around outside the school now, could I?" the group collectively let out a sigh of relief, Benjy returned to his seat. It seemed they had another few weeks to decide what their course of action; a heavy decision like this was not one they wanted to make with NEWT pressure piling on. "But I must say, if when the time arises, you did want to join the Order, I would advise you to send me a blank piece of parchment bearing only your name and signature. I also suggest you charm the parchment, so only the designated recipient – myself – may read it, and do not use your own owl, just as a precaution. You never know who could be watching… Now, if you have any more questions, please direct them to Miss McKinnon and Miss Vance, I must retire to chair a staff meeting. Goodnight." And as quickly as he had appeared, the Headmaster swept from the room and down the stairs in a swirl of pale purple dress robes.

Lily stayed for a few minutes longer, as did Hestia, Sirius and James. Remus, Jessica and Peter retired from the room, Benjy hot on their tails after shooting a glance towards Emmeline that Lily couldn't quite read. Cardarac and Julia stayed for a minute or two before leaving with Meghan. Sirius and James bombarded the girls with questions, Sirius wanted to know if any of his family were involved with Lord Voldemort, Marlene refused to say, but did add that it was a good thing Sirius had fled, the Black household had been searched by the Ministry the week previous and several dubious items had been seized. Sirius snorted before sarcastically replying "Several?" Lily and Hestia remained quiet, only answering when they were addressed, it seemed the weight of what they had been told was playing on their minds, that and with James and Sirius' excited chatter (as well as a fair degree of catching up with their old friend) they couldn't have gotten a word in edgeways. Sirius seemed oblivious to the girl's quietness; James, however, had noticed - it _was_ quite difficult to ignore the daggers that Hestia was shooting towards Marlene and the small scoffs she replied to each of Marlene's answers.

"I think we should call it a night Sirius." James said quietly, tugging lightly at the sleeve of his friend's robes. "It's getting late." For the first time, Sirius seemed to notice the girls still stood there, the tiredness playing across their faces and flashes of jealousy flaring through Hestia's eyes. Nodding, Sirius bid his goodbyes to Marlene and Emmeline before following James and the girls down the stone steps and out into the empty corridor.

"Common room?" Sirius asked, gesturing towards Gryffindor tower, taking a few steps in the relevant direction, Hestia nodded sternly and began to follow Sirius in the direction of the tower.

"I just want to pick up a few things from our office; I'll only be a few minutes." Lily replied.

"I'll come with." James added, he didn't like the idea of Lily wandering the corridors alone at this time of night. Lily nodded and the two pairs headed off in opposite directions.

"You're a bit quiet…" James thought aloud. Lily didn't seem surprised that he'd noticed, he normally did with these things. She shook her head and sighed a little, before screwing the paper into her hands into a tight ball and throwing it towards the waste paper basket, it missed and rolled lamely on the floor for a moment before coming to a halt, several inches from its intended target.

"Thinking, that's all." She replied softly, shuffling the papers on her desk, having completely forgotten what she even came for.

"About what?" James questioned lightly. Pushing his square famed glasses up his nose. Lily's eyes quickly scanned single pieces of paper from a stack before sorting it into piles, she might have put on a convincing act for anyone who didn't know her, but James knew her better than possibly anyone and knew that she wasn't reading a single word on the pages and the piles were indeed, nonsense. She shook her head and continued in her façade of tidying her desk.

"Nothing." She answered with a shrug, but James knew otherwise. Crossing the room in a few loping strides, he softly took her hands in his. Her emerald eyes, gazed up at him in confusion.

"Don't lie to me." He smiled, dropping a kiss on her nose. Inhaling deeply, she averted her gaze, before letting the air escape from her nose. Returning her gaze back to James, she let go the words which had been dancing across her tongue since they had left the Headmaster's office.

"I want to join." Exhaling with relief, she looked up into James' face. He was smiling, although there was no real happiness there, they both knew that what they were about to sign up for was dangerous and could quite easily get them killed.

"Me too." He agreed.

"I just hope we can make a difference." Lily breathed, leaning close into James and exhaling in relief at the soft pressure of his arms around her.

"We can only try."

**Authors note; there you go! What do you think? Let me know **** so now we know who Jessica is going to the ball with! Who do you think the others will go with? PandaBearPotter had a few guesses but hasn't come up with the right answer yet! I'll give you a clue – both Remus and peter will be going with girls who have only been background characters up until now and have only been mentioned in a few chapters, but that's all I'm saying! Let me know your guesses and I might let you know if you're right! **

**In addition, I should probably say this more often, I really want to thank every single one of you who reviews and gives me the inspiration to carry on writing **** I want to say a massive thank you to FranTheObsessiveFangirl, PandaBearPotter, ClaireBear1982 and load of others who regularly send reviews and messages on Tumblr or on here **** it really is appreciated! Thank you **


	45. Injury

**Authors note: another chapter :D and it wasn't too long to wait either! I'm liking these empty days before I start University that I can fill with chapter writing! Having said that, I did procrastinate quite a lot when I began this chapter – I wrote about five hundred words, then didn't feel like writing any more so threw myself into chapter planning for the sequel… I've now planned twelve chapters and managed to flesh out a timeline for virtually the whole of the sequel, up until October 1981... Not bad, ey? Haha anyway, there will be lots of action and stuff going on, and I can tell you now, you lot are going to absolutely hate me for some of it! But I'm going with it anyway! Muhahaha - that was meant to be an evil laugh, I don't think it came across that way… oops! Anyway, thank you for the reviews on the last chapter, you all made me feel so much better about a chapter that I didn't really like, so thanks **** anyway – onward march with chapter 45! (Only five chapters from the end, HAZAR!)**

_**Recap: Benjy is attacked in the hallway by Mulciber, Avery and Regulus Black. Professor Bensheath, the defence teacher, breaks it up and sorts out the mess. **_

_**Professor Sprout scares the seventh years during a NEWT lesson by announcing that the Auror Academy would only accept applicants that had four outstanding grades or more. Alice is freaking out, Lily is freaking out because she doesn't want to fail Transfiguration. In the midst of all the chaos, Samia Rain gets bitten by a venomous Tantacula and class is cut short of an annoyed Professor Sprout escorts the Ravenclaw to the Hospital Wing.**_

_**The Friday meeting, the group are all very nervous. Professor Dumbledore enters; bring Marlene McKinnon and Emmeline Vance with him. He explains about the Order of the Phoenix and that he wants them to join but stresses they will not be able to do so until after graduation. Hestia is very jealous of Marlene, Sirius is oblivious. **_

_**Lily and James go to Heads office to collect some appears and Lily tells James she wants to join the order, James agrees. **_

The first lesson of the day was Defence Against the Dark Arts; Lily, as much as she loved the subject, was not looking forward to the lesson. Virtually every single one of her teachers was fretting about the NEWT exams and if she heard about the importance of these exams one more time, she might actually strangle someone. Professor Bensheath's class however, was a welcome relief.

"You've all worked hard, very hard," he addressed the class of seventh years. "And I believe there will be some incredibly high grades in this class." The young Professor's moss green eyes wandered over to the table of Marauders who were absently flicking pieces of rolled paper at each other and poignantly ignoring their praise. Raising an eyebrow, the Professor returned to addressing the rest of the class. "But the practical portion of the exam may be a struggle for some of you. Now, I believe duelling may be on the paper, so I thought this lesson we could practice this, in a safe and controlled environment that is." The Professor smiled as several class members shot excited glances between themselves and hushed whispers broke out all around the room. "Now there will be some rules." The Professor added, the Marauders – who were now intently listening, sighed. "No spells that will severely hurt, disfigure or transfigure your opponent. No spells that will damage the classroom or anyone else watching the duel. If I believe you have used a spell that I deem inappropriate, five points will be taken from your house and you will forfeit the duel. There will be ten house points on offer for the winner of each. Now, let's push these tables back and set up the chairs down the far walls and we can start!" clapping his hands together in an excited motion, the Professor gave the students their starting orders, to which they set about with great gusto. That is, except Calix Mulciber; the large Slytherin boy stood, making no attempt to join in the furniture rearranging but concentrated on sending Sirius Black death glares, and praying he got the pathetic blood traitor as a duelling partner.

"I'll pull two names out the hat – the first will go to the far end of the room, the second will go to the other. You will prepare yourselves, and on my call the duel will start. I will allow the duelling to begin until it reaches a close, or if I don't see a clear winner emerging, I will put a stop to it and call it a draw. Now first two names:" the Professor shouted over the chatter of the class, at the sound of his voice, the class hushed to silence. "Danha Greengrass," the Slytherin Prefect stood and took her position at the end of the room, a small smirk crossing her features. "And, Remus Lupin." The Professor finished. With a nudge of encouragement from Lily, Remus reluctantly stood. He knew he was good about Defence Against the Dark Arts, it was probably his best subject – and if he was being brutally honest, he was probably best in their year, maybe even as good as Professor Bensheath, maybe even _better_ on a good day; but none of this prepared him for duelling in front of all his classmates and friends. Remus knew Danha was a poor dueller, she'd come along to one session of the duelling club last year and had been defeated with two spells, she hadn't come along since, but he didn't feel confident duelling in front of the class, what if he did something stupid and managed to turn his nose into a banana or something? He'd never live that down!

"Ready? Go!"

"_Protrego_." Remus hissed under his breath, even if Danha was not a very good dueller, it wouldn't hurt to be prepared.

"_Incarcerous_!" Danha exclaimed, flourishing her wand slightly too much to get an accurate aim. It hit the shield charm slightly to the right of Remus, who rebounded with a silent _bombarda_ just in front of Danha's feet; small explosion blasted and covered her vision with smoke. She coughed lightly as she sent an unaimed _Locomotor Mortis_ towards Remus, who parried with a quick _Immobulus_, which rendered Danha immobile before the smoke had cleared, leaving Remus the victor of the duel.

"Well done guys!" Professor Bensheath congratulated, having reversed Remus' final spell and allowing Danha to return to her seat. "Ten points to Gryffindor – well done Mr Lupin! I didn't even see your shield charm come up – congratulations!" Remus nodded, slightly embarrassed as he took his seat. Sirius clapped him on the back, taking the air out of his lungs. Meghan Daley threw him a sweet smile from across the room, blushing lightly at the intensity of her stare, Remus returned one – it's only polite. At this, her friends dissolve into girlish giggles and nudged their friend; all whilst whispering behind their hands and sending looks in his direction. Meghan blushed maroon. Unsure what on earth he may have done to warrant such amusement; Remus returned his attention back to the Professor, who was ready pairing up the next pair.

"In fact, let's make this interesting; let's have two pairs duelling at the same time. In a real life situation, you may not be the only ones duelling and you would have to deal with the distractions of others too. So let's have, Stellan Avery." the Professor announced, pulling the Slytherin's name from the hat. "Against, Mr Fenwick! Stellan and Benjy, you position yourself at either send of the room. Now, next is, Sirius Black." Sirius pulled himself to his feet and settled himself at the same end of the hall as Benjy – he didn't trust Avery to not hex him whilst he stood next to him, whether the Professor was present or not. Avery sent a cruel smile towards Benjy across the room, a lump rose in the Ravenclaw's throat; he was a good dueller, he was President of the duelling club for goodness sake! But that didn't stop the fear that suddenly spread through his veins; the faint scar along his hairline throbbing painfully at the prospect of facing the Slytherin student in combat yet again. "With Sirius is… Calix Mulciber. Now, play nice guys-" the professor started, aiming his words more at the Slytherin end of the room than Benjy or Sirius. "And only duel _your_ partner, this is about how you deal with distraction, not multiple targets. Any spells that purposely go off course or towards someone who is not your partner will get points taken and you will forfeit. Ready? Go!" the Professor started.

Benjy followed in Remus' footsteps and set up a _protrego_ shield charm, believing defence was the best form of offence. Sirius didn't feel the need and instantly went on the offensive.

"_Aguamenti_." Sirius hissed under his breath, a stream of clear, cold water shot from the end of his wand, catching the Slytherin off guard and sending him spluttering backwards, the front of his robes dripping wet.

"_Flippendo_." Mulciber countered, Sirius dodged and parried with a _Petrificus Totalus_, that his opponent avoided, retaliating with a hex Sirius had never seen or heard before. Attempting to reverse the direction of the spell failed and it caught the middle of his forearm, splitting straight through the fabric of his robes and shirt underneath and slicing the flesh as if it were butter. Sirius let out a snarl of pain and readied his next spell to counter. Pain spread up and down his arm like a shockwave, blood seeping onto the white of his shirt, sticky and warm.

"Mulciber, Black, STOP! That was uncalled for and unwarranted. Ten points from Slytherin. Are you alright Mr Black?" Professor Bensheath inquired, for only a second taking his eyes from the duel between Avery and Fenwick. The duel between Stellan and Benjy however, was much more one sided than their counterparts, Benjy was mainly on the defensive, only retaliating when Avery crumbled his shield charm. It seemed Avery was quite the dueller when he wanted to be. Stellan Avery, who seemed to have been watching the Professor as closely as he had been Benjy, gave a small hand signal to Mulciber; it was almost so small that if you weren't looking for it, you missed it.

"I'm fine." Sirius growled, clutching his split arm around the wrist with his free hand. Sirius had wanted to continue the duel, even if he was injured, he wanted to crush Mulciber, he wanted to show him that he was a better dueller and that he could overpower him, but he didn't get the chance.

Whilst the Professor's attention was diverted, Mulciber hissed something under his breath, flicking his wand in Benjy's direction, who gave a shout of pain before falling to the ground, his hands covering his face.

"My eyes! I can't see, I can't see!" Benjy panicked, cowering in an almost foetal position on the floor. Lily and Alice rushed over to Benjy's side; Jessica, too horror struck to move, stared from her seat, quite wishing she could help but her body seemed especially uncooperative. Gasps and shouts of protest were shot towards the Slytherin student, who considering what he had just done, smirked. Professor Bensheath was furious.

"MULCIBER!" he shouted, silence fell upon the class. "That is unacceptable. Professor Dumbledore's office, NOW!" Calix shrugged, offering Wilkes a satisfied sneer as he left. "Potter, as Head Boy will you escort him please. Lily, will you help me get Benjy to the Hospital Wing please." James nodded, quickly and without protest followed Mulciber out the room, wand pointed at his back.

Lily scooped Benjy's arm over her shoulder, praying he wasn't too badly hurt. Benjy whimpered with pain as the Professor held Benjy's other arm over his much taller shoulder and they began to carry Benjy towards the classroom door.

"Lupin – take a register and then send everyone on their way." The professor shouted from the doorway. Unsure he even knew what to do, Remus tried to think what the Prefect inside him would do and quickly called for quiet.

"Can you all sing your names on this sheet as you leave please?" Remus asked the class, who all seemed too stunned to speak. Taking a piece of parchment and a quill from the Professor's desk, he signed his name with a flourish and passed the parchment to Sirius, who was still cradling his arm. "And you should get that looked at." Remus added quietly, Avery and Wilkes signed their names before leaving the room, smug grins flickering across their faces.

"Not giving those gits the satisfaction." Sirius grimaced; it seemed the pain was worsening.

"Well we don't care." Peter interrupted, appearing at Remus' shoulder.

"We'll go with you." Frank cut in. Sirius, still unwilling, couldn't resist the three stern faces that were bearing down at him and reluctantly agreed to traipse down to Hospital Wing with his three friends.

Jessica was still stunned into silence; Alice, having returned to her seta after helping Lily with Benjy was equally as dumfounded.

"Did that really just happen?" Alice squeaked, quite sure what had just played out before her eyes must have been an illusion, even Mulciber wasn't stupid enough to curse another student into blindness in front of a whole class and a Professor was he? It seemed so... Either Calix was very stupid, or just frankly didn't care.

"I should probably go check on Benjy…" Jessica trailed off, unsure of how to finish that sentence. Alice nodded and followed her friend from the room.

"No you may not see Mr Fenwick; he is needing specialist treatment and is being prepared to be transferred to 's as we speak." The matron barked, arms folded in front of her chest, irritated that she had been drawn from her patient by an incessant knocking at the Hospital Wing door. Jessica paled, a nauseous feeling overcoming every other sense. Alice wrapped her arm around Jessica's shoulders, partly in comfort, partly because she didn't trust Jessica not to faint.

"But we're sort of dating!" Jessica spluttered. Alice offered Madame Pomfrey a supportive smile, but received a stern glare in protest.

"I'm afraid I cannot let that cloud my judgement Miss Silvers. Mr Fenwick is recuperating before his transferral, now I must get back to him." And with that, she had slipped through the door and closed it with a slam .

"Well she's cheery this morning." Alice muttered. Jessica, overtaken by shock, stared at he closed door.

"They're taking him to 's? But that's the Wizard hospital – that means it's really serious Alice! What if he goes blind?!" she squeaked. Alice was about to reply, but was cut off by James appearing behind her.

"It's just a precaution." He soothed. "He's gonna be fine, he'll probably be back tomorrow." James added, giving Jessica a one armed hug. "Now, I've got to get Lily from inside, you want me to give Benjy your regards?" Jessica nodded numbly and stepped aside for James to enter the hospital wing.

When James entered, he was greeted with the stormy face of Madame Pomfrey who was about to scold him for entering the wing when she was addressing a patient, but Professor Bensheath ushered him over before the matron could get a word in edgeways.

"He's with Dumbledore now." James answered before the Professor could even ask the question, the Professor nodded, exhaling slowly.

"What in Merlin's name was going on in that classroom for this to happen?" Madame Pomfrey accused, wrapping Benjy's eyes in a thick layer of bandages and dosing him with some thick liquid from a green bottle that seemed to soothe his whimpering.

"Duelling practice." The Professor answered curtly. "Mr Mulciber however, took it into his own hands to administer his version of justice."

"And what on earth were students doing duelling?" the Matron countered. "They are just children!"

"Children in a war." The Professor opposed, rendering the matron temporarily speechless. "I am their Defence teacher, if I don't teach them to duel, what is going to save them next time they come across this in the real world." He continued, the matron nodded smally and continued to address Benjy in silence.

"Dumbledore wants our statements." James whispered to Lily, who was still stood at Benjy's side, cradling his hand in support. Benjy's fingers were loosening by the second; Lily suspected he was falling asleep. "Before I forget-" James added. "Jess is worried about you, you know Benj. She sends her regards." James said to the semi-conscious Benjy, who nodded slightly before succumbing to the sleep undoubtedly brought along by the matron's medication.

"We'll be going now." James said to the Professor, who had gone a startling shade of grey and looked in need of a sit down. Lily pulled a chair across and the young Professor settled into it, thanking the Head Students before returning his gaze to Benjy who was sleeping soundly in his hospital cot, his eyes enveloped in thick white bandages, smelling heavily of sterilant. The smell reminded James of his night in the Hospital Wing back in September, the thought made him feel slightly sick.

"Your turn now Mr Black." The Matron called out as she stored the leftover bandages in a drawer beside Benjy's bed. James whipped around, suddenly aware they were not alone in the Hospital wing, Sirius was perched on the edge of a Hospital cot rolling his eyes at Remus who had rendered him immobile with his wand. "Let's clean up that cut and send you on your way."

"Sirius?" James spluttered. Sirius, now fully mobile, glared at James.

"I didn't want to come, my mothers here," he gestured towards Frank and Remus. "made me come." Grimacing as the Matron dropped a few drops of dittany onto his skin, the other three boys watched in awe as the cut healed and the skin knitted back together, the faint scar barely visible. "Now, the rest of you can go. Mr Black I want you to stay here for a while, then you too can leave. Chop chop!" the matron chivvied, clapping her hands together. James shook his head, a chuckle threatening to escape his throat at the face Sirius pulled behind the matron's back. Remus, Peter and Frank followed the head Boy and Girl out of the Hospital Wing, leaving Sirius, Benjy and Professor Bensheath inside.

"Is he okay?" Jessica questioned as soon as the five students had closed the door behind them.

"He's asleep now Jess, he'll be fine." Lily soothed, rubbing her friends arm to comfort her. Jessica seemed relieved by the statement and offered Lily a small smile in return.

"There you all are!" Hestia breathed, jogging up the corridor towards the five Gryffindor's. "I've been looking for you everywhere!" he added, breathless and gleaming with a light sheen of perspiration.

"Where have _we_ been? Where have _you_ been?" Alice countered, noting Hestia's dishevelled appearance. The witch's shirt was untucked from her school skirt, her tie askew and her hair in a general state of disarray.

"I got caught by Peeves on the way to Defence, got a lecture from Filch about punctuality or something," Hestia dismissed the caretaker's lecture with a wave of her hand. "Ironically I wasn't late when Filch cornered me, but I was after his lecture! Anyway, I got to Defence and everyone was already leaving, said there'd been an accident… so I've been searching everywhere for you lot!" Hestia added, her normal breathing beginning to return.

"It was duelling practice." James replied. "You can guess what happened." He added with a raised eyebrow.

"Mulciber hexed Benjy – he can't see and his eyes are incredibly painful." Lily continued. "They're taking him to 's for checking over, but he should be back soon." Hestia paled; evidentially quite glad she had missed the lesson.

"Where's Sirius?" Hestia asked, suddenly aware her boyfriend was not with his friends.

"He's got a cut on his arm, Pomfrey is just sorting it out, then he can come out. He doesn't want to be in there, that much is evident." Remus replied. Hestia nodded slowly, sending worried glances towards the Hospital Wing and weighing up how many detentions she'd get if she broke in to see Sirius and whether it would be worth it. Alice seemed to understand Hestia's train of thought and squeezed her arm reassuringly.

"Me and Lily have to go and see Professor Dumbledore; we'll meet you back in the common room when we're done, then we can head off to Transfiguration." James said after a moment of silence. Remus nodded, herding everyone away from the Hospital Wing and in the direction of Gryffindor Tower.

The Headmaster received the statements from the Head Students in Professor McGonagall's office, whilst the deputy Headmistress kept watch over Mr Mulciber himself. Once James and Lily, as well as Professor Bensheath, had given their testimony's, the Headmaster returned to his office.

"Here we are again Mr Mulciber." The Headmaster quipped, shuffling paperwork around his desk, ignoring the bored expression crossing the seventh year's face. Slumping in the uncomfortable chair, Calix mentally cursed the Headmaster for keeping him in the office, he didn't need to be here – and that didn't just go for the office, adorned in trinkets and contraptions that buzzed, whirred and ticked around him, but for the school in general. He didn't need Hogwarts, he had something bigger planned, he was sure to be marked this summer and finally take his rightful place in the inner circle of the Dark Lord, alongside his father and associates. "This is not the first time we have been here, is it now Calix?" the Headmaster questioned, attempting to coax out a reply from the boy sat across the desk. As the boy glared back, his expression neutral with no sign of remorse, the Headmaster made his decision; the governors would probably be in uproar, but he had to protect his students and with two attacks in the past fortnight on other students, not to mention the attack on the Head Girl two years ago, Mr Mulciber had to leave the school.

"I am suspending you Mr Mulciber, awaiting a final judgement from the Governors on whether you shall return to the school. You may return to your dormitory, pack up your things. I will contact your father and get him to collect you." Expecting the student to rise and leave, the Headmaster was surprised to see Calix Mulciber sat still in his seat, smirking.

"Is that the best you can do? Suspend me? Threaten to expel me?" a sharp laugh escaped from his throat. "I'll save you the trouble, I'm leaving." Albus Dumbledore had to admit he was taken by surprise. Rising from his seat and sauntering towards the door, Calix turned back to the Headmaster, his smirk firmly in place.

"I have a higher calling old man, something greater than this school. Greater than even _you_." The student sneered. As Calix turned back to the door, he twisted the door handle with a quick flick of his wrist and made to descend the stairs.

"Calix." The headmaster called back. The Slytherin wasn't sure what him pause, but the seventh year boy, stopped in his tracks and turned back to the Headmaster, quite unsure of his motive. "I urge you not to undertake this. Please think about what you are doing." Albus urged. Calix sneered back.

"You are a fool Professor, and you will lose." And with that the boy was gone.

Slumping forward in his chair, Albus Dumbledore hung his head in his hands; another student had escaped his grasp. He had failed Calix Mulciber and he had failed the Order of the Phoenix, as well as all those people who would be affected by the reckless actions of an 18 year old boy drunk on power. His only saving grace was that there were a vast number of other students in the school who still needed his help, his guidance. Attempting to concentrate on that thought, the Professor inhaled deeply, sat more up right and began to sort through the reply slips of the new September intake of students that were beginning to clutter up his desk.

Sirius Black had been sat in the Hospital Wing for an hour now and he was bored. Very bored. Madame Pomfrey had been kept busy with attending to Benjy, who Sirius concluded was in more need of care than he, and preparing him for the transfer to 's as well as assisting the healers in his relocation. Meanwhile, Sirius had been sat cross legged, feeling perfectly healthy, in the middle of his hospital cot idly flicking through a Quidditch magazine.

An hour and a half had passed and Sirius Black was still bored. The wound on his arm had fully healed and the scar had faded to virtually nothing, Madame Pomfrey was bustling around in her office with paperwork from Benjy's transferral and seemed to have forgotten he was even here in the haste of the handover. Lifting himself from the bed, he smoothed the creases in his trousers and made to leave the wing when the Matron suddenly seemed to remember his presence.

"Mr Black, where do you think you are going?!" she ordered from the doorway to her office.

"I feel fine Poppy!" Sirius called his, holding his arm up and poking it, to show how well he felt. "See? Now I'm going. Thanks for the dittany!" holding two fingers to his temple, he offered her a mock salute before throwing open the doors to the Hospital Wing and strutting away towards Gryffindor Tower. The Matron's shouts protests falling on deaf ears.

Catching sight of the clock at the end of the corridor, Sirius note the next lesson was due to finish in twenty minutes – doing some mental calculations, he worked out he should be in Transfiguration right now. He could head off to lesson, catch the last ten minutes, where the Professor definitely wouldn't be expecting him, or he could head back to the common room and revise, wait for his friends then head off to lunch. Not that, that didn't sound at all appealing… He was just kidding himself – of course the thought of work wasn't appealing! He didn't want to head to lesson or revise, instead he began to pointlessly wander to corridors of Hogwarts and hope he didn't run into a Professor who would ask him what on earth he was doing out of class. Deciding this seemed like a plausible plan, he aimlessly began to wander; round the corridors and up staircases he went, quite unsure of his position. That was, until he reached a corridor that was all too familiar to him. Knowing if he carried on a few paces up the hall he would reach the office of the Headmaster, Professor Dumbledore. If Sirius had been paying attention to the entrance to the office, which he wasn't, he would have noticed from the steps descended the solid form of Calix Mulciber.

"Black." Calix sneered, pulling Sirius from his train of thought.

"Mulciber." Sirius snarled, drawing his wand from the folds of his robes.

"Feeling better now are we? Now we've been looked over by the nurse." The Slytherin mocked. Sirius scoffed.

"Fantastic." He countered. Sirius wasn't sure who threw the first curse, or the second, or frankly the third; he was only aware that he was suddenly duelling Calix Mulciber and he was duelling for his life. Wishing he duelled more like Remus and had thought of putting up a shield charm, his concentration momentarily lapsed. Taking advantage of his opponent's moment of weakness, Calix Mulciber took the opportunity to try out the new curse that he had been informed of some time ago but not had the chance to use. As the curse slipped from his mouth, Sirius' eye caught his; frantic and wide, Calix guessed his would be similar. Failing to dodge or deflect the curse, it hit Sirius square in the chest.

Even Calix Mulciber was not prepared for the ferocity of the curse he had just thrown, Sirius doubled over, falling to the floor in a breathless heap. As Sirius fell to the floor, the full extent of the curse began to make itself apparent; blood spurted from Sirius' face, spraying droplets across the walls and the floor, streaking across the length of the Gryffindor's body were slashes, like he'd been carved with an invisible sword. Soaking through the white of his shirt the sheer amount of blood that was being drawn from his body suddenly became apparent, turning from crystal white to scarlet. Struggling from breath and clutching desperately at his blood soaked throat, Sirius' wand dropped limply from his hand. Grasping at his face to try and stop the sheer agony that coursing through his body and lack of inhalation that was rendering his light headed and on the brink of consciousness, Sirius ultimately failed.

Unprepared for such a brutal sight, Calix stumbled back a few paces, unable to comprehend what his wand had just done… He may not be a student of this school anymore, but this was an attack, which was clearly from his wand, would surely not go unnoticed by the hordes of Hogwarts students and staff that would undoubtedly spill through the corridor in only a few minutes time. As Sirius gasped desperately for breath, Calix made his escape, thundering down the steps and towards the entrance hall where he could exit without being seen. Throwing aside Frank Longbottom when he stood in his way, Calix slipped between the open front doors and towards Hogsmeade where he could return home and pretend the sight of Sirius Black half dead on the floor, blood seeping from every pour of his body, hadn't affected him half as much as it did.

Calix Mulciber stormed up the corridor towards Frank Longbottom, Frank was about to reprimand the Slytherin on being out of the classroom during lesson when he remembered where Calix should have been, incidentally himself too. Unable to concentrate during the class, Frank had feigned a headache and promised to return to the common room to rest. Normally Frank wouldn't lie to a Professor, especially Professor McGonagall, but the events of the morning had clearly taken its toll on him. When he had complained of the throbbing pain in his temple and weakly made his complaint to the Transfiguration Professor, he had no intention of returning to Gryffindor tower to brood solo, but instead aimlessly wander the corridors of Hogwarts. Unconsciously Frank's feet had carried him to the one corridor he was trying to avoid, the same corridor that Calix Mulciber was fleeing from. A few moments later, Frank saw exactly what Mulciber was fleeing from. For a moment, he was stunned, but suddenly the budding Auror senses kicked in and Frank sprang into action, attempting to stop the bleeding and begging with Sirius to keep his eyes open, as they fluttered dangerously near closing.

"Help! Help! We need help here!" Frank called out, hoping desperately that someone would hear his calls….

**Authors note: please don't hate me…. Originally, this chapter was meant to go on for another 100 words or so, but I (being incredibly mean) decided to leave it on a cliff-hanger and added the last part of the chapter onto the beginning of the next chapter… like I said, please don't hate me for it! hehe, anyway, let me know what you thought of the chapter and what you think will happen to poor old Sirius! Reviews are cookies and rainbows and unicorns and sunshine :D xxx**

**PS, can you guess what the spell was that Mulciber used? I'll give you a hint, it makes itself known in HP and the Half blood Prince…**


	46. Exits

**Authors note: now, this chapter has been a **_**long**_** time coming, three months maybe? I could apologise for that, but I'm not going to. As you know, I moved out of my home and my hometown and went o University in September, it's the most amazing experience and I'll admit, this story took a backseat. I have been writing small bits every now and again, but I've been too busy with assignments to write much. Right now, I'm on my Christmas break so I've had a bit more time, when I'm procrastinating from doing my assignments! This update has not been properly edited, so there may be small spelling or grammatical mistakes, as to be expected, but if I didn't out this up now, it wouldn't get posted for another few months, so I hope you can forgive that! Anyway, onwards **

_**Recap: Professor Bensheath, the defence against the dark arts professor suggests duelling to help build their skills or the NEWT exam which is not too far off. Several duels go off without a hitch, but during a simultaneous duel between Mulciber against Sirius, and Avery against Benjy Fenwick, Benjy is injured by Mulciber with an unknown hex that renders him blind. This is the second attack on the Ravenclaw; he was attacked by Avery, Mulciber and Regulus Black a few days before which left his with a nasty scar across his hairline. Benjy is carted off to 's for treatment due to the severity of his injuries and Sirius is treated for a large slash along his arm. Mulciber is hauled to Professor Dumbledore's office where he is told he needs to leave the school and is suspended, but he decides to leave, citing he has bigger and better things waiting for him, Dumbledore urges him not to follow that path but the 7**__**th**__** year just laughs and leaves. Sirius discharges himself from the hospital wing and wanders the corridors of the school, running into Mulciber as he leaves. They duel and Sirius is hit with a spell that splits his skin and renders him clinging to life. Frank, having been excused from class, finds Sirius in the nick of time and calls for help, but would it come? **_

"I just can't get them to heal." The Matron informed the Headmaster in hushed tones "as soon as I seal them, they reopen." Her voice tinged with worry. Albus Dumbledore nodded; indeed this was a most alarming and mysterious case – alerted by Frank Longbottom's shouts, the Headmaster himself, along Professors Flitwick and Sprout, found a barely alive Sirius Black lain on the corridor floor soaked in his own blood and barley breathing. With help from Frank himself, the teachers managed to stretcher the unconscious student towards the Hospital Wing for immediate medical attention.

Madame Pomfrey had never seen so much blood in all her years as a school Matron… desperately trying to stem the bleeding, she called for help from the Professors who helped administer pain relief potions and attempt to seal the wounds. She had done the best she could, but the lacerations however, did not seem to heal or knit together, it seemed they were destined to reopen only a few minutes after sealing. And as if to demonstrate her point, blood began to soak through the bandages on the bottom of Sirius' torso before the Headmaster could even form a reply to her comment. Forgetting her conversation with the Headmaster, the Matron set back to work, trying with all her might and magical knowledge to heal Mr Black.

James and Lily were informed of the incident after their last class of the day, Potions, by Professor Flitwick, who cornered them on their way back to Gryffindor tower and ushered the Head Students into his office. Sirius' absence in their afternoon classes however, did not come as a surprise to any of his other classmates, after the disastrous Defence class that morning the other 7th year Gryffindors assumed he had taken himself off to their dormitory to sulk or the suchlike, so when the Headmaster informed them of the attack on Sirius and its seriousness; it came as a much larger shock than was anticipated. Professor McGonagall had taken Hestia aside straight after the Transfiguration class had finished and had been consoling her in her office, where apparently she was hysterical. The other Marauders and seventh year Gryffindors, despite having been informed by the Headmaster after James and Lily, were still somewhat confused by the details, and were left to be fully filled in by an incredibly shaken Frank Longbottom, whom they met outside Professor Dumbledore's office. Still wearing the blood stained shirt that proved the seriousness of the attack on Sirius, Frank seemed to have reverted to a vegetative almost dreamlike state as he was quickly ushered through the Gryffindor common room under James' invisibility cloak, trying to cause as little scene as possible. Shakily and with reassurance from his friends and Alice, Frank had regaled his story as they all piled into his single dormitory, including the part where he had seen Mulciber fleeing from the scene.

James and Lily did not return to the common room that evening, nor did not dine with the rest of the student population that night; Hestia Jones was also notably absent. Rumours began to swirl around Hogwarts, with the disappearance of four prominent seventh years, it was to be expected. The two remaining Marauders, along with Jessica and Alice – Frank had opted to stay in his dorm rather than face the masses – attempted to keep their head down and avoid the majority of the whispering by still joining the rest of the student body for dinner. But eventually the four Gryffindors decided maybe Frank was onto something when he stayed in his room and returned to the common room before dessert, all finding their appetites severely diminished with every hushed whisper or glance thrown in their direction.

James and Lily were finally allowed entrance to the Hospital Wing at precisely 7:52 PM. Lily had mentally prepared herself for the state that she might have found Sirius, but she was not prepared for what lay in front of her. Bandaged practically head to toe, Sirius was virtually unrecognisable aside from the mop of elegant back hair that was still visible over the top of his bandages.

"He was lucky Mr Longbottom found him when he did, any longer and I don't think he could have been saved." The Matron informed the Headmaster, once the wound had been sealed and the Head Students had been granted access to their friend, at Dumbledore's insistence.

Lily gasped in horror, covering her mouth with her hands, a numbness spread through her body like a wildfire; the person laid unconscious on the bed was really Sirius Black, her Sirius, goofy silly Padfoot, and yet if she didn't know better, she'd say he was dead. Tears pricked painfully at James' eyes, Sirius was his brother in all but blood, seeing him in such an awful state broke his heart… Stepping closer to Sirius' hospital cot, James took the seat next to it and ruffled his friend's hair.

"Come on Padfoot, wake up – we've got pranking to do!" he managed a small laugh, although it was hollow and empty, as opposed to his mighty, booming laugh that everyone had become accustomed to.

"Be careful Mr Potter, he was very delicate." The Matron chided, although her voice was less stern that usual. A few moments of silence ensued, the two staff members observing James, who was studying the faint movements of Sirius' chest, just to be completely certain that Sirius was still breathing, and the Head Girl, frozen in shock, quite unable to comprehend what had even happened.

Eventually, Lily broke the silence.

"What did this to him? Was it a knife, or …" Lily trailed off, not wanting to finish her train of thought. James looked up at the sound of her voice and offered a small smile, before turning to the Matron to hear her reply.

"I'm afraid I cannot answer your questions dear," Madame Pomfrey replied, her tone soft and soothing, quite unusual for the stern matron. "Mr Black was hit by some of hex, but which I cannot tell you. In all my years of healing I have never come across something like this. I have contacted some healers at 's and they have no idea either – it's like he was attacked with a sword or the suchlike, but if that were the case I could heal the wounds, but I cannot." For all Lily knew, Madame Pomfrey may have continued talking, but she couldn't hear anything after that, her mind suddenly drawn back to a day around the lake before their Potions OWL.

"_Lily…" Severus Snape moaned, tugging at the sleeve of his best friend's robes. "Let's go inside, we can revise in the library, I don't like it round here." He whined, shooting vicious glares towards the four Marauders who were idly flicking water at each other at the edge of the lake some fifty metres away or so; but Lily ignored him, she was quite enjoying the beginnings of the summer sunshine and the gentle waves of the Black lake lapping around her bare ankles, her socks and shoes discarded to one side. Although she had been immersed in her Potions textbook and the cooling temperature of the waves on her warm skin, Lily still felt a wave of irritation spread through her body; of course Severus would want to go inside, out here anyone could see them together, anyone including those slimy boys he called friends, Piers Wilkes, Stellan Avery and Calix Mulciber, in the library they were less likely to be spotted together. Piers Wilkes was a small boy, perhaps only five foot six, much smaller than the others in his house, but what he lacked in height, he made up for in attitude; he frequently back chatted teachers and hissed sarcastic comments whenever anyone who wasn't a Slytherin dared speak in his presence. His dark blonde hair curled around his ears, giving him the impression of someone much younger. Stellan Avery however, was much taller, approaching six foot and if it hadn't been for the constant sneer that graced his dark lips, Lily would have said he was fairly attractive. Sleek, straight chestnut hair elegantly styled, with chocolate brown eyes that she'd heard more than one of her female classmate's swoon they could get lost in. But Stellan was just as bad as Piers, he was sarcastic and mean and Lily quite suspected it was him and Calix Mulciber who had attacked the Head Girl Mary MacDonald with dark magic last term, resulting in her spending a week in 's apparently completely unresponsive. Calix Mulciber was a very large boy, and not just in height, in which he was slightly shorter than Stellan, he was built like a rugby player, (although being a Pureblood he wouldn't know what rugby was…) like a brick wall, wide and muscular. He wasn't particularly ugly, but not pretty either, not like the Marauders - despite her expressed dislike at being forced to spend increasing amounts of time with them (at Hestia's insistence), she had had to admit they were all fairly easy on the eye, even Peter in a teddy bear sort of way. _

"_Why Severus? Afraid your friends will see you hanging out with a mudblood?" Lily hissed, she'd had quite enough of Severus in the last few months, he would avoid her in corridors and look the other way when he was speaking to her, as if too continue a ridiculous charade he was talking to an invisible person on the other side of him and he'd use that awful word that she'd heard slip from his tongue more than a few times of the last year. _

"_Don't use that word against yourself." Severus snapped, fixing her with a cold stare, which Lily returned. _

"_But you called the Head Girl it earlier didn't you? And she's muggleborn, just like me. How am I different from Mary MacDonald?" Lily snarled by way of reply, she was fed up of Severus insisting she was different or special, when she wasn't; she was just like every other muggleborn in the school, dirty blooded. _

"_But you are different Lily." Severus soothed, although his hard glare remained. Quickly pulling on her simple black school shoes and shoving her books into her satchel, she stood and made to leave. _

"_No I'm not Severus, I'm just like them; and I'm leaving." She retorted, sending her friend the best glare she could muster. At this point Snape realised he'd really put his foot in it… again. _

"_No, please don't go Lily." He begged. "Let me show you this, it's a spell I invented – for people we don't like." He added, patting the ground beside him. Torn between wanting to storm off in a dramatic exit and see what Severus had created, she finally gave into her curiosity and flopped back down on the ground beside him, a satisfied smirk gracing his lips. _

"_Look, it's called sectemsempra." Lily's eyes read on slightly from where Snape was pointing on the page with his grubby fingernail. _

"_It's for enemies?" she wondered aloud, her eyes scanning Severus' spindly writing, just to be sure she had read it correctly. _

"_Yeah." He replied, his eyes gleaming with confidence. "It sort of cuts them, like with an invisible sword! I tried it out on a spider in my dorm and-"_

"_That's disgusting! You're sick Severus, sick!" Lily screamed, disgusted. Grabbing her satchel, she strode off in the dramatic exit she should have done a few moments ago, feeling sick too the stomach that anyone, let alone Severus, could create something quite so horrendous. _

"Lily are you alright? You've gone grey, do you think you're going to faint?" James questioned, jumping from his seat and gripping Lily's hand tightly; his forehead furrowing with worry. Lily shook her head numbly, trying to supress the vomit that threatened to rise in her throat.

"It's alright Miss Evans, this is understandably very upsetting but -" the Headmaster attempted to soothe.

"I know this spell!" Lily blurted out, cutting the Headmaster off mid-sentence. James stared at her bewildered, the Matron looked rather worried, the Headmaster however, was curious. Settling Lily in his chair, James crouched in front of her, one hand still gripping hers, the other rubbing soothing circles on her knee. Covering her face with her hands, Lily felt the urge to cry, but tried desperately to subdue it.

"Lily, what do you mean you know this spell?" James asked, his voice barely above a whisper, his eyes surveying her with a flicker of curiosity but also suspicion, she didn't like the latter. Lily closed her eyes and exhaled deeply.

"Snape." She replied simply. "It's one of his, he invented it." Opening her eyes, she noticed James' face resembled how she'd felt moments ago, physically sick, disgusted, guilty.

"But it was Mr Mulciber who attacked Mr Black wasn't it? Mr Longbottom saw him flee the scene?" Madame Pomfrey questioned, surveying Lily – whose normal colour was returning slightly.

"That doesn't mean he hasn't passed it on; after all, Snape and Mulciber are… _friends._" Lily replied, her voice shaking less than she expected. James leant in and tried to kiss her cheek but she pushed him away lightly. "And I might know how to reverse it."

"_Lily! Lily, please, wait!" Severus called after her, although she barely heard him above the pounding of her footsteps on the flagstone floor. "LILY!" he called out, his footsteps catching up with hers, damn he was fast when he wanted to be. _

"_What?" Lily snapped. "What on earth could you possibly add to what you've just told me?"_

"_There is a counter curse…" Snape replied, fiddling with the sleeves of his tattered robes. "You don't think I'd create a spell like that and not make an antidote or it, do you?" he asked, his coal coloured eyes meeting her lashing green. Her eyes softened ever so slightly, but still remained cold and hard._

"_That doesn't excuse it Severus." She hissed, turning on her heel and continuing in her corridor storming, Severus hot on her tail. _

"_Look though, look!" he gestured, pointing to another section of his potion textbook, in which he had written in light pencil two faint words. "You have to say it three times and the person is healed – see, it's not bad!" Severus tried to reason, but Lily was still furious and having none of it. _

"_Yes, that's lovely Severus." She replied sarcastically. Turning the corner of the corridor, she was pleased to spot Hestia talking with Jessica and Frank at the other end. "Now, I'd be happy I you'd leave me alone so I could talk to my __**friends**__." Shooting him a glare and flicking her hair over her shoulder she flounced down the corridor towards the other three Gryffindors who were now watching the exchange with a degree of amusement. Embracing the two girls and offering Frank a supportive grin, Lily turned back to Severus, threw a disgusted stare, before leaving with her housemates, leaving Severus feeling physically sick. _

After Lily's hushed explanation of the counter curse, the Head Students were ushered towards the other end of the Hospital Wing whilst the Matron set about healing Sirius' wounds with the new information. After a few tense moments, in which James worryingly would not meet her eye, Lily genuinely felt she would be sick at any given moment. After what felt like hours, but in reality was probably only a few minutes, Madame Pomfrey emerged from behind the thick hospital curtain. Nodding at James, who rose eagerly from his seat, the Head students were allowed to tentatively peer around the curtain surrounding Sirius' bed. Their fellow seventh year was significantly less bandaged so now his handsome features were now visible as was his elegant mop of black hair. Fluttering back to life, his eyelids uncertainty flickered open, squinting against the harsh light of the Hospital Wing that was quickly dimmed with a flick of the Headmaster's wand.

"I'm glad you returned to the world of the living Mr Black – you gave us quite a scare." Dumbledore chuckled as Sirius' eyes eventually opened fully yet unfocused and strained.

"Fuck." Sirius managed in reply, pushing his dark hair from his face with a vaguely numb hand. It was an odd sensation, how he was feeling right now, it was almost as if his whole body had been taken over by pins and needles, but not only in a metaphorical sense, it genuinely felt as if his whole body was being stabbed head to toe with small pins and needles, coupled with shooting pains that used the lengthy of his body like a motorway carrying their cargo of short, sharp bursts of excruciating pain from one end of his body to the other.

James exhaled heavily by way of a laugh, at least Sirius was returning to normal! Lily smirked smally, as did the Headmaster, Madame Pomfrey however seemed astounded.

"Language Mr Black!" she chided, although Sirius took no notice.

"What on earth happened to me?" he asked, as if realising where he actually was for the first time. "If this is all for my flippin' arm, then I'm fine, I swear on Merlin's pants." Sirius continued, making to sit up but was overtaken by a wave of nausea, causing him to vomit over the pristine white floor.

"Not quite mate." James breathed; rubbing the Sirius' forearm as the nurse hurriedly cleaned up and fetched Sirius a bowl, which he promptly vomited into again. "I'd ask how you were feeling, but I think that's evident." James attempted to joke; Sirius shot him a dark look.

"I feel like someone played repeatedly Quidditch with my entire body, gave me food poisoning all whilst throwing knives at me and then setting me on fire – if that answers your question. What on earth happened?" Sirius questioned, rubbing his forehead with the palm of his hand; the sensation of skin on skin was strange one, his hand felt rubbery and plastic, almost like latex, whereas his forehead felt rough like sandpaper, the combination threw him for a moment or two before a small voice began to speak.

"Well… um…" Lily began. As if for the first time, Sirius noticed Lily's presence and his face brightened a little.

"Lily!" he exclaimed, although the guilty look stretching across her face made him somewhat uncomfortable. She offered him small smile.

"You were attacked Sirius." She began slowly, sitting lightly on the edge of the hospital cot. "Seriously attacked. It was one of Snape's curses, I'm so sorry, I should have told someone about it at the time, but we had OWLs and I was stressed, and to be honest I'd forgotten all about it until it was mentioned just now and-" Lily babbled, until the Headmaster raised a hand to stop the Head Girl mid flow.

"You are not to blame Miss Evans, the perpetrator of this act is guilty, not yourself." Lily couldn't meet Dumbledore's gaze, instead she focused on her lap where her hands lay idly, her fingers tucked into loose fists. She could feel Sirius' eyes fixated on her face, studying her intently; then she couldn't take it anymore.

"I'm so sorry Sirius, I -" but she was cut off once again, this time by Sirius.

So Snape cursed me? Pathetic swine, sorry excuse for…" Sirius trailed off, muttering expletives under his breath whilst curling his hands into tight fists, his brow furrowing with anger.

"It wasn't Snape mate." James corrected, covering Sirius fist with his palm. "It wasn't him." He continued, looking towards the headmaster for support. Madame Pomfrey at this point, took her leave and scuttled off to her office where she could eavesdrop slightly more discreetly.

"Well who was it?!" Sirius demanded. "I feel like I've been put through hell, I don't even know what's happened to me and you won't frickin' tell me who did it!" if Sirius had been in a better state, James didn't doubt that he would have banged his fist against the bedside cabinet, anger flashing through his eyes. Sirius didn't take well to being bested…

"Sirius…" Lily tried to soothe, but to no avail.

"Tell me James." Sirius countered, turning slightly towards his best friend. "Tell me who did this."

"I think you'll find Mr Mulciber has been already been removed from the premises." The Headmaster interrupted.

"Mulciber?!" Sirius exclaimed, sitting up so quickly that he saw stars. James quickly jumped to aid Sirius and held his torso steady, Lily still couldn't meet Sirius' eye.

"Mr Black, you should not act irrationally." The Headmaster replied, before turning to gesture for the Matron who was peeking through the blinds in her office. Blushing slightly at being caught peeping, she emerged from her office, a small vial in her hand.

"Rationally?! That prick attacked me, he corrupted my brother, I'm going to kill him!" Sirius growled, attempting to climb from the bed. However, before he could move any further, Madame Pomfrey had caught him firmly and poured the vial of liquid in between his parted lips. Sirius struggled against her grip, but she kept firm. Involuntarily, he swallowed the foul tasting liquid and was immediately hit with a wave of drowsiness that overtook every other sense. Falling back against is pillows, he felt his eyes close and as hard as he tried to fight it, there was no coming back against the incoming sleep.

When Sirius next woke, he was alone. The hospital wing was light, but it was not the same light as before, it was softer, less harsh. The clock on the wall read half past nine in the morning, so he'd slept since yesterday afternoon _at the very least_. The pain seemed to have decreased to a dull ache throughout his body, that he was thankful for, but he could have done without the bitter metallic taste that coated his mouth and made every breath feel like he was inhaling nails.

His attention was once again drawn towards the clock, half past nine, that would be partway through first period, he could probably slip back to the common room unnoticed and settle in his own bed, it was far comfier than this hospital cot that he'd been subjected to for the last however many days, he was unsure of how many had actually been spent sedated. Swinging his legs off the bed, they felt strange hanging there, almost as if they weren't his own, but he tried to ignore the odd sensation, as well as the nausea which had once again reared its ugly head. Swallowing the need to be sick, he placed his bare feet on the stone floor, cold spread up his legs but it was welcomed, it helped dull the ache of his sore muscles and ease the stiffness in his joints. Easing himself from the edge of the hospital cot, he prayed it wouldn't squeak and alert the matron to his escape bid, thankfully it didn't. However, his bubble was promptly burst; in the cot opposite was the outline of another body, a witness to his escapade. If he wasn't mistaken, it looked like Benjy Fenwick from the pile of blonde hair that was visible above the blankets, it seemed he'd been brought back from 's… he looked fast asleep though, so no danger to Sirius' plan. Shakily putting one foot in front of the other, Sirius managed to stumble out of the Hospital Wing, open the doors as quietly as he could, and blunder out into the corridor without waking Benjy or alerting the Matron.

Taking a deep breath, Sirius began the slow walk towards Gryffindor tower, occasionally losing his balance and having to hold onto the wall to stop the room from spinning slowed down his progress but he pushed on.

"Mr Black? How nice to see you!" the words rang through Sirius' brain like a fog horn but it took a few moments to fully acknowledge that someone was speaking to him, even with his eyes pressed shut the scene in front of him span and twirled and made him want to be violently sick but he attempted to subdue the feeling. Forcing his eyes open, Sirius saw the ghostly white figure of Nearly Headless Nick stood smiling at him, seemingly unaware that Sirius was taking his time in replying to his greeting.

"Morning." Sirius managed. Taking deep breaths, the dizziness faded slightly but he still kept his hand flat on the wall to steady himself, not quite ready to release himself from it.

"I say, you do look funny in those hospital pyjamas!" the ghost joked, Sirius attempted a smile but was pretty sure his mouth was unresponsive, nevertheless the ghost continued. "Just seen that brother of yours down in the dungeons, talking with that Snape fellow, awfully strange chap- " the ghost continued, but Sirius heard nothing else. A red haze descended over his vision and without saying goodbye, Sirius diverted from his route to Gryffindor tower and towards the dungeons.

Whether it was the anger, or the adrenaline coursing through his veins, the nausea subsided and his legs felt stronger. Creeping down the stairs toward the dungeons, it was eerily silent; the only sound a faint intake and exhale of breath further down the corridor. Rounding the bottom of the stairs, Sirius could clearly see his brother leant idly against the wall, one long leg outstretched, the other pressed against the wall, a cigarette held lazily between his fingers in amid each nicotine heavy breath. Dark shadows hung below his eyes as if he hadn't slept in days, his face pale and almost ghostlike, he didn't appear to be in the best of shape. Sirius watched Regulus from the shadows for a moment, little Reg, his Reg... But as Regulus exhaled the silvery smoke for the second time, Sirius was one again overcome by the red haze of anger and made his presence known.

"You little monster." Sirius hissed, firing a spell towards his brother that cursed the cigarette out from between his fingers and left it smoking on the floor. Regulus was momentarily overcome with shock but recovered quickly enough to stare open mouthed towards his older brother.

"Sirius?" he exclaimed, not quite believing his brother could walk let alone curse, if the rumours were true, he'd almost _died_. But the small lapse in time between the curse and Regulus' reaction had allowed Sirius time to descend into the corridor and square his brother straight in the face.

"You're one of them, I know you are." Sirius accused. "Hanging around with those slimy boys, you know you're just going to get yourself killed?!" Sirius didn't even need an answer; the look on Regulus' face gave him all the information he needed.

"And you won't fighting it Sirius?" Regulus countered, any elation at seeing his brother quickly dampened; he'd known this confrontation would happen at some point this year. It was almost common knowledge amongst the students who the budding death eaters were, Regulus was surprised it had taken Sirius this long to confront him if he was being honest; the elder Black brother was never known for his tolerance. "Resistance is futile, you _won't_ win Sirius. It's impossible." As his breath quickened, Sirius knew the anger was once again taking over his brain, the same brain that had resisted the indoctrination of his parents, resisted the pure blood mania, resisted the _Toujours Pur_. It was evident Regulus' had not.

He wasn't sure who threw the first curse, but he strongly suspected it was himself, as they quickly escalated from throwing insults, to throwing curses. Normally, the younger brother would have been no match for the elder, but due to the seriousness of his condition, Sirius was in no state to fight and was quickly overcome. Falling to the floor, a wet feeling spread across Sirius' torso. Hazarding a look towards the pain that was accumulating, red patches spread across the cream of the cotton pyjamas. That everything went black.

Once again, Sirius found himself waking in the hospital wing, a regular occurrence recently. As his eyes flickered open, he became aware of the thick bandages wrapped around his torso, much tighter than previously. As he tried to sit up in his bed, he was overcome by a depressing force that prevented him from doing anything other than raising his head slightly. He must have made some noise, as a girl sat in the chair next to his bed quickly dropped the magazine she was reading and said his name.

"Sirius!" the girl exclaimed. He turned his head slightly to see her face, but he didn't need to see her face to know who it was. The voice unquestionably belonged to Hestia, he sighed lightly, just having her there was comforting; he loved having James around him but when he was in a state James tended to get worried and baby him… it all got a bit much after a while. Hestia, on the other hand, was the polar opposite; she would chide him and tell him off for his silly actions, sometimes that was easier to deal with then James' mothering. "He's awake! Come quick Lily, Sirius is awake!" Hestia added, gesturing towards another girl on the other side of the Hospital Wing who was speaking in soothing tones to the boy in the bed opposite… not a boy, Benjy, it was Benjy Fenwick, he'd been there when he'd made his escape bid… that was when the memories all came flooding back: Regulus, the curses, the acceptance of his involvement with the death eaters…

Suddenly, and most unexpectedly, Sirius could no longer hold it in and began to sob. Loud noisy sobs that shook the still air of the hospital wing. With no hesitation, Hestia took him in her arms, Lily sat across the wing lifted the spell to keep Sirius in his bed, allowing Hestia to properly embrace him.

"He's one of them… properly, he's a death eater… my baby brother is a death eater…"

As the clock struck 11PM, Remus wearily let the Hospital Wing, physically and emotionally drained. It was never easy having to relay bad news to someone you cared for, let alone news that their brother was part of the group who had cursed their friend and would probably have done worse if they hadn't been interrupted by Professor Bensheath and the Head Students and after a confrontation in the hallway he'd denounced you as his brother and dumped you bleeding back off at the hospital wing, where you'd spent several days sedated, before he disappeared back off into the dungeons.

Roughly rubbing his face with both hands, Remus tried to forget about the last two hours, the sight of Sirius sobbing into Benjy's arms after the Gryffindor had finally woken was something he didn't think he'd be able to unsee. As Regulus had carried a once again unconscious Sirius back to the hospital wing, he had hoped it'd be empty, so he could leave his brother to be found by the matron, but alas, this was not the case. Benjy, only several hours into his return from 's, was awake and was pacing the length of the hospital wing wondering how to explain to the matron that Sirius had released himself and he didn't know how. It was then that Regulus dropped said escapee at the doors, hissed that he was no longer his brother before throwing Benjy his darkest glare and leaving Sirius in a heap on the floor.

Once Sirius had awoken from his sedation after the fight with Regulus, the group relayed the news that they'd been withholding from him for the days following the first attack on Benjy; Sirius had taken the news of Regulus being one of the three to curse Benjy harder than they'd expected, it seemed that even abandonment and disownment couldn't dull the love that Sirius felt for his brother.

The thin layer of stubble that had accumulated over his chin scratched at the palm of Prefect's hands, taking a deep breath Remus continued the walk back to Gryffindors tower, knowing the others wouldn't be too far behind, they too looked strained by the whole ordeal. Lily had been virtually silent since Sirius had woken, which was most unusual for the chatty redhead, it seemed the guilt of not reporting the spell originally was still haunting her after seeing the reopening of Sirius' wounds. James had gone into Head Boy overdrive – constantly fussing over Sirius and the others, fetching them drinks, checking their wellbeing constantly, Remus wasn't sure whether it was his newly found sense of authority or whether he just didn't know how to deal with the situation; Peter had suggested James was just turning into his mother, but that was another theory completely.

"Remus!" the shout tore him from his thoughts. Turning, he expected to see Hestia or Jessica bearing bad news or calling for him to wait up so they could walk back together, but he was confused to see the round smiling face of Meghan Daley approaching. Her heavy side fringe was clipped back and her black shoulder length hair was tousled insttead of straight, it made her look more normal, not he mysterious Meghan that everyone always saw. She just looked normal, normal Meghan. Not that he'd admit it out loud, but Remus liked her looking like this…

It was only then that he realised she was talking to him and he was just staring at her, mouth probably open like a complete loon. A small laugh escaped her lips, Remus blushed maroon, she was laughing at him, he'd made a right fool of himself, and all before he'd said a word – now that was a skill. "It's okay!" Meghan smiled. "You've been through it this week, I guess you just zoned out." She shrugged slightly, her mouth still curved into a smile. He liked it when she smiled like that. "I asked how you were feeling?" she repeated. This time, thankfully, he listened to her.

"I don't know if I'm being honest." Remus replied, suddenly realising no-one had asked him that, since news of Sirius' attack had broken earlier that week, he had always been questioned as to Sirius' wellbeing; no-one had spared a thought for his friends and housemates who had dealt with firstly, the original attack and its aftermath, but also the several days in which he lay comatose in the hospital wing after the incident with Regulus...

"That's understandable." Meghan replied, continuing slowly in the direction she had been heading previously, at a pace that Remus matched. "You've been through it this week; I can't imagine how it would feel if it was someone I was that close to…" She shook her head slightly, her dark eyes glittered in the dim light; Remus had listened to James and Sirius rate Meghan in previous years, being truthful he'd never understood why, but when she stood in front of him smiling, it was hard to deny, there _was_ something special about her. "Anyway," she continued changing the subject, wringing her hands together nervously. "Would you… erm… Gosh this is harder than I expected." She admitted, fiddling with the ends of her hair.

"Go on." Remus comforted, he didn't quite know what was going to come out of her mouth, although he had a hunch, a hunch that was already tying his stomach in knots.

"Would you like to go the ball with me?!" she blurted out quickly. Exhaling slowly, it seemed she was hugely relieved to have got that off her chest. After a moment she finally met Remus' eye, to say he was surprised was an understatement. Blinking a few times, Remus suddenly realised she was waiting for an answer.

"You want to go with me? To the ball?" he asked, unsure of what Meghan Daley might see in him.

"Sure, why not." Meghan replied. "You're sweet, kind, you help me in Ancient Runes when I get confused and frankly, you're not bad looking." She added with a smirk. Blush crept up Remus neck and spread across his cheeks.

He wanted to go with Meghan, he really did… but something felt like it was holding him back, not something someone, someone with long blonde hair and chocolate brown eyes.

"I don't know -" he began to reply, but his train of thought was interrupted by the memory of his conversation with Alice earlier that day.

_Despite being relatively crowded, the Hospital Wing was eerily silent. Sirius had finally fallen into an uneasy sleep, Hestia had crashed out in her chair beside his bed and James and Lily were quietly discussing something in the corner, leaving Remus, Alice, Frank and Peter sat together around an unoccupied cot. They'd been sat in an awkward silence the matron had last checked on Sirius' condition over five minutes ago and the longer the silence went on; the harder it was to break. Then Remus remembered something from way back at the beginning of term. _

"_kumquat." He announced. Alice laughed quietly, Peter grinned. _

"_Nice one." Alice replied. "That broke the silence now, didn't it?"_

"_Well someone needed to!" Frank replied, careful to keep his voice down as to not wake the sleeping Sirius and Hestia – both of them deserved a decent kip. "I was getting ready to sedate myself if that went on much longer." Frank replied. _

"_I wouldn't go that far…" Alice giggled quietly. _

"_I don't know, I might." Peter agreed with a grin. Silence fell upon the group once again, but it was much more comfortable. A moment later, Remus finally plucked up the courage to ask the question that had been dancing along his tongue all day. _

"_Hey, Al?" he asked. Alice looked up in response, Frank and Peter seemed too engrossed in an old edition of Quidditch Weekly that Peter had just produced from his robe pocket to notice the pair's conversation. "What going on between those two?" Remus asked gingery, gesturing towards Benjy's bed, where Jessica was quietly chatting with the man himself who seemed to be recovering his health as well as his sight after his attack during that fateful defence lesson. _

"_Oh…" Alice replied. "I don't really know if I'm being honest. I know they're going to the ball together, Benjy asked her after Herbology the other day, so I guess that means they're dating or something?" she shrugged. "Don't know what's going on with him and Emmeline though? Maybe they've finished? I dunno." She added with another shrug. _

_So Jessica was going to the ball with Benjy? He hadn't seen that coming…_

"Oh… that's okay…" Meghan replied, a faint blush spreading across her cheeks. "You must already have a date…" she added, visibly embarrassed. It was then that Remus made his decision, if Jessica was over him enough to go with Benjy to the ball, then he was over her enough to go with Meghan.

"No, no, I was going to say, I don't know what time to pick you up? Or do you want to meet me in the Entrance hall?" Remus recovered; quite smoothly he had to admit. Meghan's embarrassed blush curved into a smile.

"Seven okay?" she replied. Remus nodded, forcing a smile. "Well, I'd better get back to patrol, see you soon Remus." Meghan added, grinning ear to ear. She waved before walking down the next corridor to continue with her Prefect patrol, whilst Remus headed towards the Gryffindor common room.

Inhaling deeply, he couldn't quite believe what he'd just done; Meghan Daley had asked him to the ball, and he'd said yes! Despite his apprehensions, he was actually quite excited. Maybe the ball might not be so bad after all, he decided whilst speaking the password and scrambling through the portrait hole.

**Authors note: I hope that wasn't too bad! As I'm no longer studying English language – one of my a levels at college – I know my standard of writing has slipped, but I hope it wasn't oo bad for you not to enjoy it a tiny bit… and I left you on a happy note for once :D**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and hopefully I can get another up in less time than this took! Thanks for reading and remember to review!**


	47. Finals

**Authors note: right, so this chapter (I nearly wrote episode, I've been watching Game of Thrones, forgive me!) has been a while coming, but with Law School I find it very difficult to find spare time to actually write, I've just been so busy! Plus I've had some pretty big things going on personally so this has had to take a backseat, but VOILA! Chapter 47 is finally here **** I won't lie; I struggled towards the end of this chapter so if that seems weaker I apologise, but I hope you like it! Much nicer than in previous chapters, no-one gets attacked or hurt you'll be pleased to hear **** nut unfortunately there is some Alice teasing, anyway, I'll let you find out for yourself…. **

**PS – I just want to address one anonymous review that I received: "**_I am wondering one thing though. In the seventies at least here in America there was no sseatbelt law, when did it start in England? Always good to research things for that era. Also though I love the Beattles that is mainly from having older syblins who are fans, Lily most likely would not be a fan unless her parents were fans most likely she'd like more her genration music or maybe Paul or Lennon alone."_ **There was no seatbelt law in the United Kingdom during the 1970's, being an English law student I already knew this, however, MY perception of Lily is that for all her feisty wit, she **_**was**_** responsible, so wearing seatbelt would just be something that she would do, and so what if that's not culturally correct? This **_**is**_** fanfiction after all and it's such small detail that it shouldn't be really relevant anyway. In addition, who says that Lily wouldn't be a Beatles fan? She grew up in the 1970's so would be aware of their music, and maybe not just because her parents are fans, my parents didn't play the Beatles around the house but I'd say I'm a bigger fan that most, and I know it's cliché to have the Beatles music in a Jily fic, but Hey Jude is one of my favourite songs of all time and probably my favourite released before the time period in which this fic is set so I decided to use it. Plus, she is a fictional character, who are any of us to say what she would have listened to. **

**Sorry if that came out harsh, but I don't appreciate people telling me that I'm wrong when they have no factual basis. This is my fanfiction, it's me that has poured hours upon hours into writing this, and although I welcome constructive criticism with open arms, I don't appreciate someone, on anon, telling me I am outright wrong. **

**On a lighter note, to the reviewer who said they spoke Finnish but were still reading Accio Evans, I understood exactly what you were trying to say and I'm flattered that you're reading my fic which is in another language, thank you **

**Thank you. x**

_**Recap: Madam Pomfrey is confused about the origin of Sirius' wounds and struggles to heal him, Lily realises the curse is one of Snape's and she passes the information onto the Headmaster, feeling guilty that she did do not so earlier. Sirius wakes and is furious that he was overcome by Mulciber, but has no recollection of the attack. After being sedated again, Sirius tries to escape the hospital wing but goes to find his brother in the dungeons, they fight and Sirius is injured, Regulus drops his battered brother at the hospital wing and tells a recovering Benjy that Sirius is no longer his brother. This is all relayed to Sirius upon waking again. Remus finds out Jess is going to the ball with Benjy, and is upset. Upon leaving the Hospital wing, Meghan catches up without him and asks him to the ball, he initially wants to decline, but remembers Jessica and accepts. **_

NEWT week approached quicker than any of the seventh years expected; caught up in a deadly cocktail of ball preparation, hospital visits, prefect patrols and_ dreaded_ revision, the time approached much quicker than anybody could have anticipated. Sirius discharged himself from the Hospital Wing several days after he had woken from his last period of sedation, severely behind with revision and classwork from the sheer amount of time he had spent either unconscious or recuperating in the Hospital Wing since his original attack from Mulciber, but despite worries by his friends, the man himself didn't seem too worried.

"How can you be so calm?!" Alice snapped, slamming her book shut with disgust. Sirius looked up from the opposite sofa, quite unsure of whether Alice was even speaking to him. He raised an eyebrow in reply but the blonde haired witch did not seem to notice. "You've missed a good fortnight worth of work and yet you're sat there reading a Quidditch magazine while I revise for Charms and it's almost certain you'll get a better grade then me! How is this fair?!" Alice continued. Sirius shrugged wincing slightly; although Madame Pomfrey was able to heal the majority of his injuries, she hadn't been able to stop the pain completely. Occasionally, caught off guard, he would be hit by a sudden and unexpected jolt of pain that sharply reminded him that he was only partway down the road to recovery. When Sirius didn't reply, Alice distastefully reopened her book, still eyeing it with distain. The common room was unusually quiet, eerily so, the only Gryffindor students that graced its presence were a handful of the seventh years, Alice with her Charms textbook, Peter tucked away in the corner with a tea set and a set of divination flashcards quietly muttering to himself as he swirled the dregs of the tea around the bottom of the tea cup and Sirius flicking through a battered copy of last month's issue of Quidditch Monthly, everyone else seemed to have braved the library or had mysteriously vanished.

Lily and Remus had decided on the library, but Alice couldn't face it; at this time of year the library was noisier and more crowded than the common room, which was almost deserted, provided a perfect revision space, if it wasn't for Sirius idly flicking through that damn magazine!

"This is not fair!" Alice moaned again, dropping her book onto the table with a thump.

"What's not fair Al?" Frank interrupted, his smiling face appearing at the bottom of the dormitory stairs. Clothed in simple tracksuit bottoms and a sweatshirt, he slumped into the sofa next to Alice, his arm lazily wrapped around her shoulder. His girlfriend did not look impressed.

"This!" she replied, gesturing toward Sirius who was watching the exchange with relative amusement. "He's missed so many classes and has done virtually no revision and yet he's going to do brilliantly, as always, and I'm here sweating my head off to learn Charms and I'm probably going to fail!" she finished, holding her head in her hands. Frank had to resist the urge to laugh; Sirius seemed to be doing the same.

"Well, we can't all be brilliant now, can we? That would make things very boring. " Sirius replied, failing to subdue his smirk. A murderous glare crossed Alice's usually serene features.

"This is not funny Black!" she snapped, picking up the book and throwing it towards Sirius but failing miserably and hitting the wall behind his chair several inches to his left. "Ugh!" she exclaimed, quite unsatisfied that her aim was so terrible.

"Good job you aren't on the Quidditch team, with aim like that I think James would have killed you by now." Sirius teased. At this point, Alice well and truly gave up, storming out of the common room and towards the dormitory stairs, her footsteps fading into silence as she reached the top room.

Sirius and Frank exchanged amused glances before dissolving into bouts of laughter that earned them scathing looks from Peter across the common room, which only heightened their amusement.

"Oh dear…" Sirius trailed off, wiping a tear from his eye. "Don't make me laugh like that, it hurts." He added with a faint smile, rubbing his rib cage lightly. Frank suddenly looked quite guilty.

"Sorry forgot about that… how are you doing anyway?" he asked, Sirius cocked his head to one side.

"So so." He replied "it's getting better, but it's taking time." He shrugged.

"You going to be alright to play in the Quidditch final?" Frank questioned, the mention of Quidditch making him aware that the date of the final was fast approaching.

"Merlin yes." Sirius snorted. "I wouldn't miss it for the world - James played our opening game the day after he got released from the hospital wing with a broken leg, if he can do it, I can do it." Sirius shrugged again.

"I think you had a bit more than a broken leg though." Peter called from across the common room, before Frank could get a word in edgeways, but the pair turned to face him, he was buried back in his revision. Frank shook his head lightly in amusement. Sirius released a small laugh.

"Sneaky eavesdropping there Pete." He called back.

"Why thank you Padfoot." Peter replied without looking up from the teacup that he was concentrating so intently on. Frank and Sirius laughed lightly once again before returning to their conversation.

"How's James doing?" Frank asked "He must be snowed under with NEWTs and the final – wouldn't want to be in his shoes."

"Me neither - he's got tiny feet." Sirius joked, Frank grinned. "But in all seriousness, he's doing okay as far as I can tell, apart from pulling his hair out over Quidditch. He's got a great vice-captain in Jess and I think she's shouldering most of the Quidditch work, but they seem to be spending all their time tucked away going over tactics and positions and defences. It took less time to invent the bloody game than it did for those two to plan our team strategy." Sirius concluded with a shake of the head.

"So not much revision for either of them then?" Frank grinned, leaning further back into the sofa and spreading his arms over the back. Sirius shook his head.

"James'll be fine, he always is, we both are." he shrugged once again. "And Jess doesn't even need to pass these exams; she's sorted for September anyway." Sirius added as an afterthought. Frank raised an eyebrow.

"And whys that?" he questioned.

"Did Alice not tell you? Thought she would have done." Sirius concluded with surprise. Frank shook his head, his curiosity sparked. "She got accepted as a reserve seeker for the Holyhead Harpies, it's all hush hush though, so don't mention it anyone." Frank was impressed, nodding his head in acknowledgment, he was about to reply when Alice came storming back down the stairs.

"She says I breathe too loudly to revise in the same room as her." She whined, slumping back down onto the sofa next to Frank, crossing her arms across her chest in frustration.

"Who?" Sirius laughed.

"Your girlfriend!" Alice exclaimed pointing accusatorily towards Sirius. "Hestia! She's a mess, convinced she's going to fail Potions!" Sirius scoffed.

"She'll be fine." Sirius concluded with a laugh and a wave of his hand.

"Oh what do you know? You've never revised in your life!" Remus interrupted, making his way through the portrait hole with Lily on his heels, Sirius smirked in response.

"The library is packed!" the redhead moaned. "Full of second years whining about their exams and taking up all the tables! Do they not know there are NEWT students who actually need those tables?" flopping into the sofa next to Sirius, Remus perched on the arm.

"You were one of those annoying second years once Lily, remember?" Frank replied, but Lily dismissed his comment with a cheeky grin and a wave of her hand.

"Shock horror Lily, other people actually want to revise!" Sirius teased. Alice rolled her eyes.

"Everyone except you two!" she groaned, flicking her eyes between Sirius and Frank.

"Hey!" Frank protested "I've been revising! I'm just a bit calmer than you lot, freaking out won't help anyone." He concluded, Alice shook her head, dismissing his argument. Frank exchanged an amused look with Sirius.

"Where are the others anyway?" Remus asked, scanning the common room and only counting the five of them in their usual seats around the hearth and Peter across the room.

"James and Jess are off Quidditch planning again." Sirius replied.

"And Hestia has reverted back to hermit phase and has locked herself in our dormitory where she is barely visible under the piles of notebooks and textbooks." Alice added. Lily raised an eyebrow.

"Potions again?" she asked, Alice nodded. "She'll be fine." Lily added, to which Remus scoffed. "What?" Lily questioned him.

"Pot calling the kettle black! I've just spent an hour reminding you that you won't fail Transfiguration because you were panicking so much." Remus countered.

"Completely different!" Lily argued. "She'll pass Potions, I _might_ actually fail Transfiguration!"

"But didn't you get an O in your OWL?" Alice questioned with a smirk.

"Fluke." Lily replied with a shrug. "And anyway, you're just as bad with defence!" she added turning towards her fellow Prefect, Remus blushed slightly.

"Like that's possible Moony – have you ever failed an exam in your life?" Sirius said, Remus shook his head with apparent embarrassment.

"So there." Lily concluded. "You'll be fine." Remus didn't quite believe the Head Girl but it was much easier to agree with her than risk igniting her fiery temper, especially when everyone was so stressed over exams…

"I can't do it! I just can't do it! It's my best subject and I can't do it!" Meghan Daley exclaimed, slamming her notes onto the table on the verge of into tears.

"Come on Meg, it'll be okay! What's up?" Reginald Cattermole soothed, relieved to have an excuse to put down the divination notes that were the bane of his existence.

"Herbology, I can't do it! My notes are all jumbled and I can't read my handwriting and… agghh!" she moaned, throwing her hands up in the air before covering her face with her hands. Placing a comforting arm around her shoulders seemed at appease Meghan ever so slightly, that was until Bailey decided to pipe up from across their library table.

"I could help you Meghan, I'm fantastic at Herbology." He bragged. Meghan lowered her hands to glare at her housemate – he was her friend, but at some times she had to restrain herself from strangling him.

"Oh be quiet Cooper, I know you're freaking out as badly as the rest of us, me and Reg saw you in the library the other night stressing over your Arithmancy equations so don't make out you're not panicking too." she snapped, before taking a deep breath and composing herself. Bailey's amber eyes betraying his inner embarrassment, Reginald smirked.

"Caught out there Bailey." The red headed wizard teased, adding: "Hey, if you're struggling with Arithmancy, why don't you ask Hestia Jones? I heard she's a whizz with those equations." A smirk crossed his lips at seeing Bailey flush, whether it was with irritation or embarrassment, his friends were unsure, but his excuse of needing air suddenly seemed quite pathetic as he packed up his notes and left the library, leaving Meghan and Reginald in fits of hysterics. Despite their worries over their looming exams, there was always time to take the mickey out of Bailey Cooper, even if he was one of their closest friends…

Amos Diggory had been pacing across the floor of his dormitory for so long it was a wonder he hadn't worn a hole in the floor and fallen through, but he couldn't sit still, he always had his best ideas when he was moving and he needed a good idea now. He needed something, a special something, something to give his team the edge of James Potter's, there was no way he was losing another Quidditch Cup to that egotistical, arrogant, conceited Gryffindor, especially not in his final year! He _had_ to win, losing was _not_ an option.

Life in the Ravenclaw common room was the antithesis to that of the Gryffindor – Isaac Athold had been strutting around the place since 10AM with what can only be described as the world largest folder of Transfiguration notes, declaring he knew the whole thing word for word. The sad thing about Isaac was he probably did, didn't mean he was any good at doing the actual magic though... Benjy sighed, staring at the pages of notes was sending his eyes fuzzy. Taking off the new pair of glasses that his father had bought him, he rubbed his eyes as the world around him blurred and smudged into barely distinguishable blobs. He was immensely grateful to the healers at 's, they'd managed to save his sight after all, but he was still slightly depressed that he no longer possessed perfect 20:20 vision and was stuck wearing these glasses… They weren't bad glasses, in fact they were rather nice, fairly rounded brown frames that matched his tanned complexion and framed his eyes perfectly and he knew they hadn't been cheap, but that didn't stop his distain towards them. He sighed again, he was lucky to have his sight at all, that much he should be thankful for, he could have quite easily been completely blinded and glasses don't bother anyone really do they? Look at James Potter, he gets on fine and he's worn glasses his entire life!

Giving himself a mental shake, Benjy told himself too stop procrastinating and brooding about his new glasses and get on with this Charms revision. He'd noted earlier that day, that many of the Ravenclaw students didn't actually seem to be revising, or if they were they were tucked away somewhere quiet out of sight. Unfortunately for Benjy, when he got to library it was already full, needless to say the common room was the next best place, it was always rather quiet, but today it seemed to be alive with students scuttling to and fro from their dormitories or simply lounging about. Samia Rain was the only other student revising, although she didn't seem to be getting much done as she applied the second coat of pink nail varnish screened from view behind a textbook. It seemed the Ravenclaw students were actually very calm about the whole prospect of their exams... that is, all except Benjy who seemed to be descending into a downwards spiral of panic.

Alone in the Slytherin common room, Severus Snape was once again brooding – the subject of his thoughts, the upcoming exams. He was torn between being swept up in the usual paranoia and panic and avoiding all talk of them all together and not giving a flying hippogriff about them; the decision was his, he could either turn into a hermit and study like the rest of his year to come away with decent grades, or he could throw away everything that he had worked for and launch himself into the ranks of the Death Eaters. He was all for ascending through the ranks but something was stopping from diving in head first – he wasn't sure what it was, but he had a sinking feeling it had auburn hair and green eyes. Yes, he would finally admit it, she was the only reason he had not dropped out of school and been marked already. Seeing her everyday brightened his dark world, seeing her smile warmed his cold heart, even if it was only slightly. The sound of her laugh would echo in his ears for hours after the joke had passed and when she had elegantly strode past him in the hallway, she allowed him a moment to inhale the familiar scent of her perfume and lose himself in the memories of their friendship. But seeing her also infuriated him, made him want to crush the Marauders and that pathetic James Potter, every time he saw Lily, she was with _him._ Every sneaking smile, it was for him, every tinkling laugh, he had caused it, every time she went anyway, he was escorting her or she was on her way to see him. Unconsciously he shook with anger at the very thought of James Potter. The small first year passing through the common room on his way to the library, year carrying a heavy load of textbooks, asked him if he was feeling okay, Severus roared at him to be left in peace, to which the first year scuttled away, tears pricking his young eyes. And Severus Snape was alone yet again.

"Wish me luck Evans?" James smirked, raising an eye brow, his hazel eyes betraying his inner excitement; Lily pulled a face of disgust.

"I'd rather not Potter. I would rather gouge out my own eyes." Lily retorted, her smirk growing ever wider. James pulled her close and kissed her cheek; she wrinkled her nose but allowed herself to be pulled against James nevertheless.

"Merlin, I've got déjà vu!" Jessica giggled as she walked past, already dressed in her Quidditch robes of gold and scarlet, she flicked her long blonde braid over her shoulder, nervous jitters already coursing through her veins.

"Good luck honey." Lily added, standing on her tip toes and kissing James' lips lightly. "Go out there and crush Hufflepuff butt."

"I will do for you baby." He replied with a chuckle, tucking a loose curl of her auburn locks behind her ear, before delicately kissing her lips, lingering before pulling away.

"Eww don't do that in public – there are children around!" Hestia mock chided, gesturing to Tom and Daisy stood a few feet away with Jessica – Lily turned her head round to her best friend and pouted, to which the brunette cocked her head to the side and smirked. Dressed in denim shorts and a cropped floral shirt, Lily concluded Hestia looked more suited to a day shopping in Hogsmeade rather than an afternoon watching Quidditch sitting on uncomfortable benches, especially with her expensive new sunglasses perched amongst her perfectly quaffed hair – but Lily expected no less from her best friend. Feeling rather undressed, Lily was pulled out of her thoughts by a shout from the vice-captain, still stood not too far away.

"Come on Captain we have to go!" Jessica yelled back at James, Daisy and Tom by her side. Looking towards them, James held up his finger, gesturing for one more minute.

"You'd better go." Lily giggled. "_Go_!" Lily added imperiously with a Prefect like firmness.

"Yes ma'am!" James smirked back, tipping an imaginary hat. Lily laughed out loud and shook her head as she watched James run towards his team, his Quidditch robes billowing as he ran.

"Come on lets go get good seats!" Alice squealed, grabbing Lily's hand from behind and dragging her, along with Frank towards the stadium where Hestia had already made her way and was already gesturing madly for them to follow.

"Right team. As you know, this will mine, Black's and Silvers' last game with you." James spoke, a melancholy atmosphere descended over the dressing room. "And I want you all to know, it has been an honour to be your Quidditch captain for the last few years." Tears pricked at Daisy's eyes, but she subdued them; Daniel was studying his feet intently to avoid drinking in anymore of his teammate's emotion. Jess pondered that it didn't quite seem real that this was her last Quidditch match at Hogwarts, she never thought about this amazing experience ever coming to an end, maybe she was just prolonging the inevitable, but she still couldn't quite imagine never flying along Sirius or Gwenog and having James bark out orders that she'd reverberate to the players on the other end of the pitch or spend endless nights awake until some unearthly hour in the morning planning strategies and tactics with James, fuelled only by caffeine and the sheer determination to win. Sirius seemed to be experiencing the same emotions as Jessica, nostalgia was rife in the common room, each small thing bringing back a memory; his beater's bat, the same one that James had given him as a present in first year with a note attached telling him to practice, or the first time he saw Daisy fly during her try-out and wondering how such a petite little thing could move so quickly and outfly someone twice her age and even the Gryffindor dressing room with curtains of scarlet that had somehow come to feel slightly like home. He squeezed Jessica's hand reassuringly; fairly certain she was consumed by the same cocktail of emotions as him, both reliving the smell details from their time as players for Gryffindor house.

"And I know you are all amazing players who I hope to be able to look at in ten years' time when you're playing for big famous clubs and say '_hey, I was their Quidditch captain_!' so go out there and kick some butt, for me." James finished, a smile unfurling on his lips. The team laughed, but it seemed hollow, it seemed not only the 7th years were experiencing a melancholy state of being as opposed to the usual prematch buzz and jitter, and they had reason to, the team wouldn't be the same next year without them, they'd have three new players and a new captain… The team would nearly half in size without the seventh years, who made up the backbone of the team, a chaser, a beater and a seeker. Training wouldn't be the same without James barking orders, Sirius' playful teasing or Jess' infectious optimism.

"I just wanted to say something too, if that's okay?" Jess asked after a few moments of silence. James nodded, gesturing to the team in front of them.

"I'd just like to say, you lot of have been amazing, it's been incredible being your vice-captain for the last three years. You're all like my family and I'm going to miss you so much…" she trailed off. James made to say something else, but Jessica held up her hand. "I'm not finished." She flashed James a grin, who smiled and shook his head. The rest of the team allowed a smile.

"I just wanted to announce that I've been scouted to play for the Holyhead harpies next season. I'm only a reserve seeker, but there's still chance that I could make it into the main team pretty soon!" She beamed. Jessica had kept the news of her offer from the Holyhead harpies quiet since she had received the letter inviting her to join their reserve team – with the death of her mother and the current climate outside of Hogwarts, it had seemed insignificant but revealing the news to her team, the weight of this suddenly occurred to her, she was going to be a Quidditch player, a real life professional Quidditch player, she was going to play Quidditch and get paid for it! She hadn't even told her brothers yet, but the news seemed like something she should tell them face to face rather than through a letter, and she hadn't found the right time to tell them yet.

"Merlin's Y-fronts Jess! That's fantastic!" Gwenog exclaimed, enveloping Jess in a hug.

"It's fantastic Jess, it really is." Sirius added, although he had known of Jess' _big news _it still astounded him that a girl that he had played alongside for so many years was going off to play professionally! The blonde blushed faintly with all the praise from her fellow players and looked to James to begin with his news before she could flush into a tomato.

"And I'd just like to congratulate Gwenog too." James added and the gushing immediately stopped. The team confusedly turned round to the 6th year who was staring blank faced at the captain, whose usual smirk threatening to make another appearance. Looking confusedly around her team mates, the rest of the team seemed as clueless of the 6th year. Sirius, in on the secret winked at his fellow beater, who was still completely clueless.

"I'd like to introduce next year's Gryffindor Quidditch team captain, Gwenog Jones."

"Holy Phoenix!" Gwenog squealed. Covering her face with her hands. "Thank you!" she exclaimed, as applause rang out through the dressing room. Unable to convey her gratitude, Gwenog launched herself at James, throwing her arms around his neck. After another round of congratulations, the team took a deep breath, exchanged encouraging looks and finally stepped through the curtains of their changing room and out to face the crowd. For a few moments, they smiled and waved to the sea of students either wearing red or yellow in support of either team. A sick feeling rose in James' stomach, nervousness washed over him like a shower. This was it, his last Quidditch match… He had to do this, he _had_ to win.

"Good luck team." James said his voice firm and strong, not betraying how much he was shaking on the inside. Mounting their brooms, the team kicked off into the air to rapturous applause from the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw students, and boos from the Hufflepuff and Slytherin end of the pitch. Gwenog and James were last to leave the platform, James made to follow his team but Gwenog reached out an arm and stopped him.

"I won't let you down James." She said sincerely.

"I know you won't Gwen." James smiled. And with that they both kicked off and flew into the centre of the stadium to deafening applause, ready for the starting whistle.

"AND GRYFFINDOR HAVE CAUGHT THE SNITCH – THEY HAVE WON THE QUIDDITCH CUP!" the commentator screamed. They'd done it, all the hard work, hours and late nights put in for preparation had paid off, they'd done it, they'd won, Jess had caught the snitch! Punching the air, it didn't quite seem real, their 7th year at Hogwarts and they'd retained the Quidditch cup and the whole match was over in a blur of 37 minutes and 16 seconds. He swelled with pride as his team rushed to congratulate the seeker down the opposite end of the pitch. Switching his gaze towards the teacher's box, James noted Professor McGonagall seemed to be fighting back tears of pride, offering him a small wave by way of congratulations and a nod of appreciation from Professor Flitwick at her side.

"Get in there Jess!" Sirius yelled from somewhere not too far from James, turning in the opposite direction to the teachers box, James caught sight of his best friend flying towards him at a slow pace, his beaters bat punching the air. It was only then that James realised he was still holding the quaffle; he let it aimlessly drop to the floor as he closed the gap between himself and Sirius. Clapping his best friend on the back, Sirius couldn't quite believe they had done it; they'd won the cup, especially against possibly the strongest Hufflepuff side in a good few decades. They'd were twenty points down and struggling to break through the opposition's defensive line, Daisy had been knocked her from her broom twice, Daniel had struggled to make it past his Hufflepuff counterpart and poor Tom was receiving a beating down at the Gryffindor goal from the other team's chasers – but Jessica had caught the snitch, it was all over and they had emerged victorious.

"We did it Prongs, we did it! Congrats captain." Sirius teased ruffling James' already unruly hair; who offered an elbow to the ribs by way of return. Trying to conceal the pain was useless against James, who saw straight through the façade.

"Oh Merlin, sorry Padfoot, I completely forgot -" James apologised, but was quickly cut off by his best friend.

"S'okay – it's not that bad really, I'm being a wimp." Sirius rebutted, James didn't seem convinced, eyeing his friend cautiously. It was clear to him Sirius was lying and was pretending the pain been extinguished. Sirius to some extent though was telling the truth, the pain had already lessened to copeable level but then again when he moved every muscle cramped, every joint that felt like it might explode with white hot pain every time he raised his arm to hit a bludger away from a teammate, or he would nearly be overcome by a dizzy spell when he flew too fast, but he wouldn't change anything, every jolt of pain, every wave of nausea was worth it, worth it all for the win.

The crowd screamed Jessica's name – James felt a smile tug at his lips, it seemed a lifetime ago from when they'd both joined the team as scrawny second years under the captaincy of Prewett and it was beyond his wildest dreams that they would now be here, in their final year, about to hold the Quidditch cup for the umpteenth time as Captain and Vice-Captain, with a brilliant team and best friends at their side. Speaking of best friends, his attention was suddenly distracted by finding their position in the stands, usually he would have sussed their position within the first five minutes and would often fly by them pulling stupid faces to entertain them during the slower parts of the match, but this game had been full on from the first minute – Hufflepuff had been on their A game and had James' attention been diverted for more than a moment, a loss may have been far too easily achieved.

A daunting thought then crossed James' mind, this could be his last ever Quidditch match – not just in a Hogwarts jersey, but ever; without the war, the Auror Academy and the Order of the Phoenix, Quidditch would no longer be a priority… but nothing could dampen the sense of Euphoria spreading throughout the stadium, he had just won the Quidditch cup, his best friend was at his side, nothing could really be better than this, he grinned. Sirius pressed into his broom, about to head down to the other end of the pitch to congratulate Jessica but James held out an arm to hold him back, Sirius looked towards the captain quizzically.

"This is Jess' moment, let her soak it up, we have forever too congratulate her." James explained, and Sirius couldn't help but agree – the crowd were still chanting her name, she was surrounded by the rest of the team, patting her on the back, high fiving her and posing for pictures for the crowd. She stole a glance towards the other end of the pitch where Sirius and James were hung in mid-air, she sent them the cheesiest grin she could muster, to which they obviously returned one just as wide.

Then, James decided, celebrating the victory with his best friend was not quite enough, he wanted to revel in the win with his other friends too, and his favourite red headed witch.

Scanning the stadium seats, he knew exactly where to find her, it seemed like a sixth sense, he seemed to know exactly where to find her. Speeding across the pitch to the Gryffindors seats, he pulled his broom up to an abrupt halt right in front of Lily's seat.

"Well done captain!" Lily yelled over the applause that rung out as James approached. As James pulled right up to the barrier, she threw her arms around his neck. She was dangerously close to falling over the barrier, but she didn't care – Gryffindor had just won the Quidditch cup, one of her best friends was off to play for one of the top teams in the country and her boyfriend and his best friend had just played probably the best game of their lives, how could she not be happy?!

It was in that moment that James was hit by another realisation, he wanted to marry Lily… He'd always known he wanted to marry her, but right now in that moment, he was overcome with the urge to sweep her up in his arms and ask her to marry him, crazy as it seemed! With her red hair curling out around her face like a mane, emerald eyes sparkling with emotion, her cheeks rosy from smiling, it was almost impossible to contain the question that was dancing along his tongue, but somehow he managed to resist, here wasn't the place, although he might just know the perfect moment…

As he gestured for Lily to cross over the barrier jump onto his broom, she looked sceptical but she had no choice, grasping her in his arms once again, he gently pulled her over the safety barrier and settled her on his broom in front of him, his arms protectively around her.

"Thank you darling." He mused, kissing her cheek. Lily however, was panicking too hard to actually listen to James… she was on a broom, in mid-air, with no safety net…

"J-J-James I don't like this!" she stuttered, knuckles white clasping the handle of the broom. Hestia cackled with amusement at Lily's reaction as James pulled away from the stands and flew, at what felt like warp speed to Lily but in reality was probably the slowest James had ever flown, towards the centre of the pitch where the team had regrouped as students began pouring onto the pitch. Stopped a metre or so from the ground, James allowed a very queasy looking Lily to jump from the broom and return to solid ground. Sirius breathed a laugh.

"Not a fan of flying then Lil?" he teased.

"I would rather redo the Transfiguration exam." Lily muttered through clenched teeth, but the boys understood and began to chuckle.

"Sirius, I've got a feeling Lily doesn't really like flying." James teased, looking quizzically towards his best friend. "I'm not sure, it's just a hunch." He added, Sirius nodded before offering Lily a grin.

"I don't know James, you might have to get her back out on a broom to be sure." Lily's eyes widened in terror.

"Don't you dare James Charlus Archimedes Potter." Lily dared. James was about to chide her on the use of his full name when he was grabbed from behind.

"Well done Potter! Good game!" the voice congratulated, James turned to be greeted by the grinning face of Benjy who enveloped him in a hug, patting his back.

"Thanks Mate." James replied with a grin. "Nice specs." He added with a nod towards the brown frames that sat in front of Benjy's eyes.

"They're not too bad." The Ravenclaw agreed with a smile, but before James could get another word in edgeways, he was pulled backwards, hands patting his shoulders as he went, the next thing he knew, he was hoisted up onto the shoulders of several other students, chants of '_Gryffindor, Gryffindor, Gryffindor'_ ringing out across the stadium.

"Put that boy down before someone breaks an arm!" Professor McGonagall chided, wading through the sea of students with her usual authorative demeanour, although the smile spreading across her face betrayed her inner joy. Dumping James down at the Professor's feet with a thump, the captain too matched the head of houses grin. "Well done Potter."

"Thank you Professor." James breathed, in his memory Professor McGonagall had never set foot upon the Quidditch pitch, let alone waded through an ocean of students cloaked in red and gold; the shock almost on par with that of actually winning the title. With a curt nod, she turned on her heel and left, leaving James at the mercy of the crowd, not that he minded though.

**Authors note: so here it is, hope its okay! Hopefully it won't be so long until the next update, no more Law School until September now! Although I will miss it, I'm looking forward to having a few months off to myself **** I'm going to do some shameless self-promotion here, but give me a follow on Tumblr .com, I reblog some decent stuff sometimes and fill your dash with lots of stupid selfies, as well as some updates about this fic and how it going **** or if I'm too annoying – as may be the case! Haha check out the **_**Accio Evans**_** tag and you'll find any updates there **** well thank you, and goodnight! **


	48. The Ball

**Authors note: **

_**Recap: Benjy and Emmeline act very strangely round each other and Lily suspects something has gone on between the pair, especially when he asks Jessica to be his date to the ball. Meghan Daley asks Remus, at first he is reluctant, but then accepts, it's only the ball right? Sirius is finally released from the hospital wing and everyone now continues their NEWT preparation, some 7**__**th**__** years are going into meltdown, whilst others seem to be gliding through. The Quidditch final, Gryffindor are twenty points down against a strong Hufflepuff side when Jessica catches the snitch. James flies over to see Lily and has to bite his tongue to stop himself from proposing on the spot, he's not sure what brings it on, but he is now surer than ever that he wants to marry her. **_

**Authors note: okay, it has been years since I last updated and I'm so sorry for that, I truly am, but I'm just so busy and la school is so full on that I don't have time for anything really! Although now my exams are over, I have a few weeks off before I start my summer placement, then it'll be back to university for me! So I thought I had better get this done before I lose focus… I'm not very keen on the ending of this, but I didn't really know how to change it and if I did I'd never get this posted! Plus, I haven't done the usual amount of editing for this in my haste to get this up so I hope it's still okay! Well, hope it's not a disappointment and you enjoy!**

Rereading his essay for the 4th time, James began to worry that he had completely misunderstood the exam completely. Charms, the very last NEWT exam of the year, had been a well, a lovely exam, the multiple choice questions were a breeze, the short essay questions had been answered with barely a thought and the main essay he'd completed in half the time allocated and all with virtually no revision, which with the Quidditch final only five days before, had been physically impossible. Sneaking a glance towards Sirius in the row behind and two seats to his left, the other Marauder too seemed to have finished the exam and was counting bricks on the far wall. Remus too, sat a seat diagonally left to Sirius, seemed to have finished, although, he was flicking through the paper and checking over his answers, a much more productive past time. Turning in the opposite direction, James noted Alice was pulling her hair out with her right hand and writing frantically with her left, biting on her tongue in concentration, Charms always was her worst subject. Jessica in the seat in front of her was still writing, but seemed much calmer than her friend. Peter, sat in front of James, was still writing too, but it looked more like checking and correcting, rather than finishing the actual essay, the rest of his friends seemed to be out of view, seated behind him and he daren't steal a glance for Professor Flitwick's gaze had already settled on him with a judgemental stare.

The final twenty minutes of the exam dragged in a slow motion cocktail of quills scratching on parchment, heavy breathing and the occasional sigh, but finally the exam was over, done, finished, and so was their Hogwarts education.

With a flick of his wand, the rolls of parchment rolled themselves neatly into a box at the front of the Great Hall and Professor Flitwick dismissed the seventh years. Congregating by the Marauders tree in the grounds, the group, as expected, began to discuss the exam, on the most part agreeing with James that the exam overall had been a pretty decent one, there was nothing too difficult and the Professors hadn't tried to trick or catch them out. Alice was the exception, who believed the exam was truly terrifying and never wanted to see a Charms textbook again in her entire life.

"But that's it, we're all done now." Peter concluded after a lapse in conversation. "There won't be any more years at Hogwarts now…" he trailed off. The reality of Peter's words seemed to dawn on the seventh years; they had no more exams, no more classes and no more years at Hogwarts.

"I don't want to leave." Alice grumbled miserably. "Hogwarts is our home." Lily laid a comforting arm across Alice's shoulders.

"That might be true, but now we have a whole week off, to do whatever we want and enjoy our last days here." She added, in an attempt to appease her friend.

"Yeah, and we have the ball tomorrow!" Hestia added. The ball, that had been months in preparation, was now nearly upon them; the final OWL exam would be held at 9AM the following day and the ball would commence at 7PM, their leaving ceremony would take place the next week, leaving the rest of their time free for spending in the sun and enjoying their last days at school, all whilst the lower years of the school commenced their exams. At the mention of the ball, Alice perked up immeasurably.

"Have you boys got new outfits?" she cooed, suddenly overcome by excitement rather than the misery that she had been not a moment ago.

"Mum sent through a new pair of dress robes." Peter replied. "So did James' mum but he didn't like them so he sent them back and got a new pair." He added, throwing a teasing look towards his friend.

"Hey!" James countered. "I did like them! I sent them back because they were an inch too short, I'd look an idiot!"

"You always look an idiot James, so who'd be able to tell the difference." Hestia chipped in. "Mum picked me out a new dress at Gladrags for me, she owled it to me last week, I can't wait to wear it." She added, capping her hands with glee. Lily shook her head with a giggle.

"I swear, any excuse to get dressed up gets you excited Hestia." She teased. Hestia shrugged.

"Heyy, I'm predicable, what can I say?" she replied, stuffing a handful of crisps into her mouth.

"Hungry?" Jessica questioned, seeing the rate her friend inhaled the cheese and onion flavoured snack.

"Starving." Hestia replied, her mouth still half full as picking the last few crisps from the bottom of the packet. "I couldn't eat breakfast being too nervous for that exam, don't know why I got so bothered now though!" she sighed.

"Same here." Lily agreed. "It must be dinner soon though?" she added checking her watch. Remus did the same.

"It's in about fifteen minutes? We could go wait inside, get the best seats at the table?" he offered, Hestia didn't need asking twice. Jumping to her feet and grabbing Lily's hand, nearly pulling her arm out of the socket, she sprinted towards the castle, the others not far behind.

"Lily, does my hair really look okay though?" Alice questioned for the fourth time. Lily subdued the need to roll her eyes, half of Alice's hair was pinned in a twisted bun and the rest of her shoulder length blonde hair left down, Hestia's curling tongs having given it a slight wave.

"It looks lovely Al, _you_ look lovely." Jessica chimed from the entrance of the bathroom as she wiggled into her outfit, a tight fitting red dress that hugged her slim figure and flared out towards her knees, covering her gold sandals. Pulling her loose plait over her shoulder, Jessica gave Alice a gentle shove away from in front of the mirror and applied a striking scarlet lipstick; Lily was surprised to find it suited her. Make up as a whole suited Jess, the blonde generally didn't wear any on a day to day basis, so now, all dolled up – courtesy of Hestia – Lily admitted she almost looked like a different person, but a good different, although Lily preferred the fresh faced look for her friend, she had to admit Jessica scrubbed up well. Alice ruffled her hair once again, still not 100% sure the wave that Hestia had added to her usually straight hair completely suited her, but taking her friends word for it, she applied a thing coat of lip gloss in the mirror over Jess' shoulder and searched in her wardrobe for her dress.

Lily, as usual, was the first one ready, although that wasn't hard with the military style operation that it took Hestia to get ready, which today had included Jessica and Alice. Alice had been first, she had refused Hestia's full make over and opted for an understated make up with a pale purple eye shadow and pale pink lip gloss. Jessica was next, a relative novice when it came to make up, she had dangerously allowed Hestia free reign, she now boasted eyeliner slid across her top lid and a gold eye shadow as well as lashings of mascara. Her long hair pulled into a loose plait over her shoulder, that Jessica had unconsciously begun twirling around her fingers. There was still no sign of Hestia, although the occasionally grunt or sigh emulating from the bathroom let Lily know that her best friend was still in there. Lily had flat out refused to let Hestia touch her hair or makeup, Hestia had pouted and moaned at Lily's protests but had eventually given up and moved onto Alice. Lily's auburn curls were left loose and free, tumbling over her shoulders and the only make up she wore was a small amount of eyeliner and a generous application of mascara, in addition to a smidge of concealer to cover up that persistent spot on her jawline. Alice pulled her dress from her wardrobe and hung it from the door as she laced up the back of Jess' dress, before pulling hers on. Alice's parents had insisted she wear dress robes for the ball but upon hearing all her friends had opted for a modern style, they had been convinced and bought her the black cocktail dress that now hung from her wardrobe door. The top section was a fitted bodice covered in black sequins that caught the light at any opportunity, flaring out into layers of mesh skirts that skimmed her knees. Lily guessed it was probably time to get dressed too, considering the time it would take to convince Hestia that she was indeed ready and did not need to apply another coat of lipstick. Her dress was simple, a navy blue halter neck style dotted with small crystals, hugging her curves until it reached the floor with a short train; her mother had picked it out upon hearing of the ball, at first Lily hadn't been sure of the style, being so simple, but she had come round to the idea, and now couldn't wait to get into it. As the back of the dress zipped up, she felt a fluttery, jittery feeling swim around her stomach, nervous and as well as excitement swelled inside of her.

"I wonder what Samia will be wearing? Isaac told me he'd seen her carrying something shocking pink through the common room, he said it looked ludicrous." Alice giggled.

"Benjy saw that too!" Jessica added. "Although he was too nice to say, I could tell her thought it was awful!" she added, stroking her long braid. "He's gone and got a red tie to match my dress, isn't that sweet?"

"Aww." Alice cooed. "Do you think anything will happen between you two then? I mean you have been sort of dating for almost a month now…" she added with a judgemental stare. Lily nodded, but then paused.

"But what about Emmeline? Did they break up or…? No one seems to know!" Lily interrupted. Jess blushed as red as her dress.

"Well he hasn't mentioned her so I'm guessing she's out the picture, can we please not talk about her anymore?" Jessica protested, anxiously readjusting her fringe. Lily sent a wide eyed stare towards Alice who shrugged, someone was touchy on that particular subject… an awkward sort of silence fell upon the three girls, the only noise came from Hestia mindlessly humming to herself in the bathroom, oblivious to the chilly atmosphere that had befallen her three friends.

Exiting the bathroom a few minutes later, Hestia was greeted by her three friends sitting around in silence as they finished their last minute ball preparation.

"Whoa, who died?" Hestia questioned as her fellow Gryffindors turned to the sound of her voice. "Anyway," she brushed off "shall I go with the orange lipstick or the peach?" she added, holding up the two virtually identical shades.

"Left one." Lily replied when Alice rolled her eyes, it had become a custom for Lily, in this situation, to always go for the left one, whether it was two dresses, lipsticks or nail polishes, always go for the left one. Hestia surveyed the shade, nodded slightly and set about smoothing a coating over her lips, pouting to check it was perfect.

"You nearly ready yet Hest?" Jessica moaned "We have to meet the boys soon and you're not even dressed!" she added for effect. Hestia brushed her concern off with a brush of her hand as she adjusted her perfectly curled hair in the mirror.

"We have ages, calm down." The brunette replied, slipping a silver pair of studs into her ears. Alice rolled her eyes once again, why did Hestia always take so long to get ready?! It was beyond her…

"We really don't Hestia, we have to meet the boys in ten minutes and it's going to take forever to lace up your dress so hurry up and get it on?" Alice whined. Hestia sighed, taking one final look in the mirror; she nodded and crossed the room to take the dress from the safety of her wardrobe. Jessica clapped her hands together with relief, winking at Lily, finally they were getting somewhere! Pulling off her pyjamas, Hestia stepped into the top section of the dress and wiggled it up over her midriff until the fitted corset style bodice settled in the correct position, the deep purple satin skirts, flowing around her ankles. As Alice began lacing up the intricate back of the dress, Lily fetched Hestia's favourite pair of silver heels from the box under her bed and slipped them into her best friend's feet. Several moments later, the dress was properly laced and the girls could finally leave the dormitory. As Alice turned the door handle to leave, she was quickly cut off by Lily.

"Wait! Shall we get a picture first?" the red head inquired, holding up the camera her parents had bought her for her birthday. Hestia squealed.

"Of course!" she replied, taking the camera from her best friend's hands. "Ooh, what does this do?!" she added fiddling with the small door on the back of the camera, muggle things fascinated her.

"Don't open that." Lily instructed, as Hestia instantly stopped fiddling and handed the contraption back to Lily. "That's where the film goes, it you open that doors the film will be exposed and we won't be able to take any pictures." Hestia nodded in understanding. "Right, one sec." Lily added, fiddling with a dial on the top of the camera. "I've just set a timer, quick, smile!" scurrying into a position in front of the camera, the girls plastered on their most dazzling smiles and waited for the flash. A moment later, it went off and the girls could finally relax their aching cheeks.

"When will you get the films developed?" Jessica inquired as Lily packed up her camera and they began to descend down the staircase towards the common room.

"Probably when we get back home… don't think there's anywhere I could get muggle photos developed in Hogsmeade, is there?" Lily teased, Jessica grinned but it quickly faded as she instead focused on not tripping on the hem of her dress and crashing down the stairs in front of the boys, who were probably waiting for them, that would be a perfect way to start the night…

Remus anxiously fiddled with his cufflinks to stop himself was making himself sick with nerves, what if Meghan decided she didn't really want to go with him? What if she did?! He didn't even know why

he'd accepted Meghan's invitation, it was becoming blindingly obvious she, at least, had a soft spot for him and surely this was leading her on when he had no such reciprocal feelings? Shaking himself, he mentally told himself to get a grip, he and Meghan were friends, they were going to the ball as friends, that was all. He calmed down slightly as he inhaled deeply. The sound of footsteps and faint giggling brought Remus' attention back to the real world, stood in the centre of the foyer of the school; he waited for Meghan, and the Marauders to make an appearance.

"Well don't you scrub up well?" a voice said from behind him, Remus turned on his feel to be met with Meghan Daley's smiling face.

"Well, erm… thank you." Remus faltered. Meghan looked lovely, her shoulder length dark hair was left straight and her eyes rimmed with black eyeliner, and clothed in dress robes of royal blue with lace detail around the neck and sleeves. "You look lovey too." He added after a moment's pause, Meghan blushed lightly.

"Thank you Remus." She replied, opening her mouth to say something else but was cut off by a girlish giggling from behind her, Remus peered over the short witch's shoulder and was met with the stares of Meghan's three friends, all whispering giggling behind their hands whilst shooting glances towards the pair as they walked past. Suddenly becoming very self-conscious, Remus began to anxiously fiddle with his tie, royal blue to match Meghan's dress, it suddenly felt far too tight, along with his black dress robes, purchased new by his parents, it felt almost as if he were being choked by his clothing. "Ignore them," Meghan requested as her friends passed. "They're just immature, giggling because they've never so much as had a boy look at them." She added, sending a scowl off behind her friends. Remus smiled, the anxiety lessening slightly. "Are we waiting for the Marauders? Thought you four would want to make your big entrance together." Meghan teased, flicking Remus' elbow. He smiled smally, opening his mouth to reply but was cut off by a shout from Sirius from up the stairs.

"Fair maiden! I am here to save you from that evil creature!" he exclaimed, running down the stairs, Hestia shaking her head in embarrassment, the rest of their group, as well as Benjy and Julia - Peter's 6th year Ravenclaw date – only a step behind. Remus flushed maroon and Sirius slid down the bottom half of the bannister, jumping off and landing only a foot or so from where Remus and Meghan were standing. Meghan laughed, covering her small mouth with her hand.

"That's all very well and good Black, but I don't need saving." She teased. Sirius frowned in apparent confusion, as Remus looked towards his friend with a very real sense of misunderstanding.

"Sirius?" Remus asked after a moment. Sirius grinned wickedly.

"I understand now! Daley thought I was talking to her, when in fact I was talking to my dear Lupin here. Now my lady?" he asked, offering Remus his arm. Remus raised an eyebrow and gave Sirius a gentle shove. "Well I never! I have never been so insulted!" Sirius spluttered. Meghan burst out into fits of giggles once again, as did Jessica and Peter who had now caught up with Sirius.

"Please don't encourage him." Hestia pleaded Jessica, to which Sirius rolled his eyes. "Now come along dear, or we'll miss the ball and you won't get an opportunity to spike the punch." Hestia added with a grin which Sirius matched.

"You read my mind." He replied, taking Hestia's hand, setting off towards the Great Hall, the rest of the group hot on their tail.

The Great hall looked more beautiful than Lily had ever seen it, the dark ceiling glittered with a dusting of stars, brightly coloured orbs hung from the walls providing a warming glow of light, each containing their very own sparkling fairy that twirled and danced to the music provided by a ghostly orchestra up on the teachers table; Sir Nicholas, it seemed, was apparently a very skilled bassoon layer! The Gryffindor house ghost offered Lily a small nod of the head as she caught his eye, the fat friar next to her smiled as he strummed his ghostly lyre. One of the house tables was set against each wall, both covered in silver plates filled with an assortment of treats and favourites to nibble on throughout the night. Several tables were situated around the front of the hall, just in front of the orchestra, cloaked in white satin, surrounded by similarly clothed chairs to rest of those feet when the dancing became too much. Lily still couldn't quite take in how beautiful the place looked, a sense of pride swelled within her too, she had had a hand in planning this, she had helped pull off this spectacular feat and wished she'd brought her camera down to capture the moment.

"Well, I must say Miss Evans, Mr Potter," a familiar voice addressed them from behind. Turning towards the voice, they were greeted with the smiling face of Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall on his arm. "This truly is a spectacular night, my commendations to yourselves and the Prefects." The deputy Headmistress nodded.

"You've done a very fine job." She agreed in her faint Scottish lilt. Lily beamed. "And I understand there'll be band playing later?" Minerva McGonagall added.

"Thank you Professors, and you understand correctly, The agpie's will be playing later." James replied, Lily at his side nodded enthusiastically.

"No way?!" Jess interrupted. "Hestia's been playing their album all year, she is going to freak out!" the witch added.

"Precisely why we didn't tell her." Alice replied with a cheeky grin. "Don't ruin the surprise." She added, Jessica mimed zipping her lips and throwing away the key, Benjy on her arm laughed.

"The secrets safe with us!" he grinned before whisking Jessica off for a dance to the rather up tempo tune that the orchestra had struck up.

Professor Dumbledore and McGonagall bid their goodbyes and set towards Professor Sprout, accompanied by Professor Flitwick across the hall.

"Well Miss Evans, may I have this dance?" James asked once their group had begun to disperse. Offering his hand, Lily smiled.

"Why of course Mr Potter."

And so the dancing had commenced, the orchestra played for an hour or so, before the music changed to a more upbeat rhythm, compriseing of both muggle and wizard bands to accommodate all students tastes - Lily's idea of course! Several fourth years had smuggled in several bottles of firewhiskey and were attempting to down them without alerting the professors, in which they succeeded. What they did not succeed in however, was hiding the hiccups and slurred speech which undoubtedly were followed by vomit in the flower beds and being taken back to their dorm by a prefect.

"Did you see the mess of that Greengrass girl? She was a state!" Sirius mused, "Make up was everywhere!" he added.

"Because we never did that when we were fifteen Sirius." Peter teased, taking a sip from his glass of punch which the more you drank seemed to taste suspiciously more like alcohol, the empty hip flash stored in Sirius' robes may have been the cause of that he had been quick to assume.

"Course not, we'd got the vomiting out the way by fourteen, learnt our limits by then!" James chipped in, slinging an arm over Peter's shoulder. "Speaking of drinking though, don't think your girlfriend should have any more punch, she just told me she loved me, think you put a dash too much rum in the punch mate." The Head Boy added with a raised eyebrow followed by a wink. Sirius rolled his eyes sarcastically.

"I'll go find her, I'll get a house elf to fetch her some water she'll be fine." He added replied, clapping James on the shoulder and wandering off into the courtyard to find a mildly intoxicated Hestia. Peter took the last sip of his drink before setting it down on the table beside them and making after Sirius, but before he could go much further, James stopped him.

"Don't suppose you've seen Jessica have you? Lily and Alice didn't know where she went…" James trailed off. Peter shook his head.

"Last time I saw her she was with Benjy dancing, haven't seen her since." Then he shrugged, James nodded in response, before following Peter across the dancefloor and outside to find the rest of the marauders and the girls.

"You're a bit quiet." Jess remarked a while later, Benjy had smiled in all the right places, laughed when it was necessary, danced with her until her feet had begun to hurt, but there was something off, something that didn't feel right.

"Just a little tired," Benjy brushed off "too much dancing!" he joked but Jessica saw right through him, deciding against pressing the matter further she motioned towards the courtyard for air, Benjy obediently followed.

The sharp cold air was welcome against her warm skin, relatively quiet; they virtually had the whole courtyard to themselves as they settled on one of the boundary walls, neither one of them quite daring to break the silence. After a moment Benjy did something that Jess was definitely not expecting, he caught her eye, then leant in and kissed her. His lips were warm against hers, his hands soft against the exposed skin of her arms. Then he pulled away suddenly. Jessica, slightly dazed, didn't quite know what to say, suddenly becoming very interested in her feet.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that, just…I…" Benjy stuttered, looking anywhere other than Jess' face. Jessica opened her mouth to say it was okay but Benjy cut her off. "look Jess, it's not you, you're an amazing girl, you're funny and pretty and talented, it's just I don't think I can do this… not so close after Emmeline broke up with me, I just don't think I'm ready for another relationship…" although she had never really thought about a serious relationship with Benjy, it had obviously crossed _his _mind, tears pricked at her tear ducts, but she attempted to swallow them. She nodded, Benjy deciding not to press, took his leave and returned to the ballroom.

Taking a few moments to compose herself, Jessica wafted cold air into her face with her hands to prevent the tears spilling. A short while later, she returned to the ballroom, setting eyes on her friends almost immediately she crossed the hall and joined them, Benjy nowhere to be seen!

"You alright Jess? You look like you're about to cry!" Alice whispered into her best friend's ear, upon seeing Jess' puffy eyes and defeated demeanour.

"Yeahh sure." Jessica replied quietly.

"Fine, but we will talk about this later." Alice retorted, seeing through her best friends lie immediately. "Now let me sort you out." She added, and was a flick of her wand, hidden in a secret pocket in the lining of her dress, the puffiness in Jessica's eyes reduced and she returned to her normal state. With a small smile, Jess mouthed a thank you.

"Jess, we found you!" Hestia exclaimed, throwing her arms around her friend's neck, nearly knocking Jessica over in surprise. Lily pulled the half-blood away from her friend.

"Sorry!" Lily apologised. "Sirius spiked the punch and she's had one too many, she'll sober up soon though… I hope." Jessica grinned.

"It's okay, I don't mind, just means we can make fun of her tomorrow when she's got a stonking headache and we're fresh as daisies!" Lily seemed to agree and nodded enthusiastically.

"Okay - we've found Jessica, but now we've lost Remus, why can't we stay together people?!" Sirius moaned a moment or two later when a headcount revealed at they were one marauder short.

"Can't see Meghan either." Peter pointed out "maybe they've gone off together?" he suggested, Sirius seemed to weigh up the idea.

"If that's the case, we should give them some space." He added. The others agreed. "Now, let's go dance some more!"

After a few hours more, Remus' disappearance was beginning to become a real concern for his friends, especially since they'd seen Meghan and she had no idea where he was either.

The boys checked their dormitory, Lily picked the lock on the library door and checked in there, Alice checked the kitchens, and he as nowhere to be found, that was until Hestia had the bright idea to check the astronomy tower, it was a long shot but they didn't really have any other options!

All traipsing up the steps, they found a very forlorn looking Remus Lupin. Hestia grinned that she had found him, but the grin was wiped from her face when she saw the state of her friend. He looked defeated, depressed and like he dint want to be found.

"Remus are you okay?" Lily asked, dropping to the floor beside her friend. The other boys too settling on various perches or sections of floor, the girls remained standing. Remus stayed silent, James and Lily exchanged worried glance.

"She tried to kiss me…" Remus replied after a long moment's pause.

"Well that's good! Means she likes you!" Alice encouraged, squeezing Remus shoulder affectionately.

"But I can't do that to her!" Remus exclaimed "I can't put her through all this!" gesturing to himself. "No one deserves that." He added under his breath, not meeting nay of his friends gaze and preferring to look put towards the stars.

"Right, listen to me." Hestia interrupted. Remus gaze averted towards her. "I am slightly drunk right now and I'm not having you be upset, yes you're a werewolf, so what, we don't care and neither should you. Okay, when the moons gets full you grow hair and teeth, but does that define you? Does being a werewolf really stop you getting the top grades, having friends, getting the girl?" Remus' eyes settled on his lap. "Now come on, pull yourself together and lets all have a drink. Sirius," she added turning to her boyfriend. "I know you swiped the rest of those fire whiskey bottles, now hand me one so we can get Remus drunk." Lily rolled her eyes at Hestia's suggestion, but her pep talk seemed to have worked for a little while, Remus was smiling.

"Thank you Hest." Remus replied, taking a sip from the bottle of warm liquid that burned his throat as it descended towards his stomach. Already filling him with a tingly glowing sensation, he knew the alcohol was working. "I'm so glad to have you lot."

**Authors note: I don't know if there were timers on cameras in 1978 but I didn't want to get another character to take the picture, so just put one in, sorry if that's not historically accurate. **

**And right, it's a bit of a pats ending, but I was seriously struggling! It's been so long since I last wrote and after rewatching the first film I knew I had to finish this chapter! I hope this is okay and you liked it! Remember to drop me a review and let me know what you thought **


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